Saudi Arabian Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the national capital Delhi on Monday. The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince was received by President Dropoudi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The ceremonial reception will be followed by a a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House where the two leaders are likely sign several pacts in the areas of trade, connectivity, defence.
The bilateral is significant after PM Modi announced a mega India-Middle East-Europe railways and shipping corridor. The ambitious project is being considered a game changer in bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and India.
The corridor is believed to be the brain child of the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Modi. The US and Europe also joined hands in a bid to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The officials of both the states signed several MoUs prior to the meeting between PM Modi and the Saudi Crown Prince. After the meeting with Prime Minister Modi at Hyderabad House, the Saudi Crown Prince is likely to sign the minutes of the first meeting of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council.
#WATCH | Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud attends a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He also met President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers during the… pic.twitter.com/HWET5vsmB1
— ANI (@ANI) September 11, 2023
After concluding all these, the Saudi Arabian PM will meet President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan around 6:30 p.m. Salman will depart from New Delhi around 8.30 pm.
Earlier on September 9, the Saudi Crown Prince had arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit to attend the G20 India Summit. He, however, stayed back after the G20 Summit for his official state visit to India. This will be His Royal Highness’ the second state visit to India. He had earlier visited India on a state visit in February 2019.