External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Riyadh early Sunday to attend the first India–Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which will be held on Monday.
”Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to participate in the First India – Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception,” the minister wrote on X soon after his arrival.
The India-GCC meeting will be held on the margins of the 161st GCC Ministerial Council meeting scheduled to be chaired by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, President of the current session of the Ministerial Council.
Besides India, the GCC Cooperation Council will also hold strategic dialogue with Russia and Brazil which will see the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
Mr Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, emphasised that the GCC Ministerial Council will discuss several reports regarding the implementation of decisions made by the Supreme Council of the GCC during the 44th Summit held in Doha in December 2023.
“The joint meetings with the Russian, Indian, and Brazilian delegations reflect the GCC countries’ commitment to exploring and opening new horizons for cooperation. These meetings aim to strengthen strategic relations with countries and organisations worldwide. Several topics will be discussed in various fields that serve the common interests of both sides and yield benefits for their peoples,” said a statement issued by the GCC Secretary General’s office.
During his visit to Riyadh, Mr Jaishankar will also hold bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers from GCC member countries.
“India and the GCC enjoy a deep and multifaceted relationship, in areas including political, trade & investment, energy cooperation, cultural and people-to-people ties. The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million. The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
After concluding his engagements in Riyadh, the minister will travel to Berlin in Germany and then to Geneva in Switzerland.