Jeddah/New Delhi, Apr 23 (UNI) The India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC), co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Tuesday evening, decided to create a new Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under it.
The second leaders meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) reviewed the work of the various committees, subcommittees and working groups under the SPC, which encompass political, defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, agriculture, culture and people-to-people ties. The discussions were followed by signing of the minutes by the two leaders,
PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
To reflect the deepening of defence partnership over the past few years – including joint exercises, training programmes, and collaboration in defence industry, the Council decided to create a new Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the SPC, a statement said.
To strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties, which has significant momentum in recent years, the Council decided to create a new Ministerial Committee on Tourism and Cultural Cooperation under the SPC.
The four committees under the India-Saudi Arabia SPC shall now be as follows:
(1) Political, Consular and Security Cooperation Committee.
(2) Defence Cooperation Committee.
(3) Economy, Energy, Investment and Technology Committee.
(4) Tourism and Cultural Cooperation Committee.
The two leaders also held a meeting under Joint High Level Task Force on Investment (HLTFI), a mechanism which was agreed upon during the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to India in September 2023.
Building on the commitment of Saudi Arabia to invest USD 100 billion in India in multiple areas including energy, petrochemicals, infrastructure, technology, fintech, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and health, the joint High-Level Task Force on Investment came to an understanding in multiple areas to rapidly promote such investment flows.
Both sides agreed to collaborate on establishing two refineries in India.
The progress made by HLTF in areas such as taxation is a major breakthrough for greater investment cooperation in the future.
The List of MoUs/Agreements signed during the meeting Tuesday between PM Modi and the Crown Prince were:
*MoU between the Saudi Space Agency and the Department of Space of India on Cooperation in the field of Space Activities for Peaceful Purposes.
*MoU between the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India on Cooperation in the field of Health.
*MoU between the Saudi Arabian Anti-Doping Committee (SAADC) and the National Anti-Doping Agency, India (NADA) on Cooperation in the field of Anti-Doping Education and Prevention.
*Agreement between the Saudi Post Corporation (SPL) and the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications of India on Cooperation in Inward Surface Parcel.
The Strategic Partnership Council was set up in October 2019 during the state visit of PM Modi to Saudi Arabia to steer the bilateral relationship. The SPC has two pillars: i) Political-Security-Socio-Cultural (PSSC); and ii) Economic and Investment, with two more being added on Tuesday evening after the talks.
The EAM and the Saudi Foreign Minister co-chair the Political-Security-Socio-Cultural (PSSC) pillar whereas the Economic pillar is co-chaired by Commerce & Industry Minister on Indian side and Energy Minister on Saudi side. There are eight JWGs/Subcommittees under the two pillars which conduct regular official level meetings.
The first summit meeting of the SPC was held in New Delhi in September 2023, co-chaired by PM Modi and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
UNI RN