Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held separate bilateral meetings with two senior ministers of Saudi Arabia and discussed newer areas of cooperation in agriculture, food processing, water technologies and issues related to labour.
Prime Minister Modi held extensive meetings with Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley and Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi, Minister of Labour and Social Development.
"Furthering synergies for a sustainable future. PM Narendra Modi had an extensive meeting with @AlfadleyA, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture," the Prime Minister's office said in a tweet.
"Moving together towards greener pastures for future generations! PM Narendra Modi had useful discussion with Minister of Environment, Water & Agriculture @AlfadleyA towards exploring newer areas of cooperation in the agriculture, food processing & water technologies," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Modi also met Minister of Labour and Social Development Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi and discussed issues related to labour.
The 2.6 million strong Indian community in Saudi Arabia is the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Riyadh late Monday night on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia to participate in the high-profile financial summit Future Investment Initiative, dubbed "Davos in the desert", an initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
This is Prime Minister Modi's second visit to the Gulf Kingdom. During his first visit in 2016, King Salman conferred Saudi's highest civilian award on him.
Cooperation on security issues between India, Saudi progressing well
India and Saudi Arabia share security concerns in their neighbourhood and their cooperation on security issues, including counter terrorism, is progressing well, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
The prime minister, who arrived here on Monday night to attend a key financial conference and hold talks with the top Saudi leadership, made the remarks in an interview published in the Arab News on Tuesday.
“I believe that Asian powers like India and Saudi Arabia share similar security concerns in their neighbourhood,” Modi said, without referring to any country.
Saudi Arabia is a key ally of Pakistan, which is accused by its neighbours of providing safe havens to terrorists.
India has not been engaging with Pakistan since an attack on the Air Force base at Pathankot in January of 2016 by a Pakistan-based terror group, maintaining that talks and terror cannot go together.
The bilateral relations touched a new low when India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August following which Pakistan downgraded the diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian envoy.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been a frequent visitor to Saudi Arabia to seek Riyadh's support on the Kashmir issue.
“I am happy that our cooperation, particularly in the field of counterterrorism, security and strategic issues, is progressing very well. My national security adviser just visited Riyadh for a very productive visit,” Modi said, referring to the visit of National security adviser Ajit Doval to the Gulf Kingdom.
“We have a Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation that holds regular meetings. We have identified a number of areas of mutual interest and cooperation in the field of defence and security,” he said.
On the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Modi said a balanced approach is required to resolve the conflicts, while respecting the principles of sovereignty and non-interference in each other's internal matters.
“India shares excellent bilateral relations with all the countries in the region, and a very large Indian diaspora, numbering over 8 million, resides in the region. A dialogue process that encourages the participation of all stakeholders is important to bring peace and security to this very important region,”” he said.
On economic growth, the prime minister said India has undertaken many reforms to create a business-friendly environment, and to ensure that it remained a major driver of global growth and stability.
“Our reforms for ease of doing business and introducing investor-friendly initiatives have contributed to improving our position in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019,” he said.
A number of major flagship initiatives, like Make in India, Digital India, Skill India, Swatchh Bharat, Smart Cities and Startup India, are offering a lot of opportunities to foreign investors, Modi added.
“We welcome greater Saudi investments in our infrastructure projects, including the Smart Cities programme. We also welcome Saudi interest in investing in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund,” he said.
This is Prime Minister Modi's second visit to the Gulf Kingdom.