Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal in Riyadh, Sayeed said Indian foreign minister and trade minister will be meeting annually as part of the council.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman will be meeting every two years at summit level as part of the newly formed strategic partnership council which was inked during Modi's visit to the kingdom on Tuesday, Indian envoy to Saudi Ausaf Sayeed has said. Speaking exclusively to our principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal in Riyadh, Sayeed said that India's foreign minister and trade minister will be meeting annually as part of the council. Here is the full interview.
Question: How do you see PM Modi's visit?
Ausaf Sayeed: It was one of the most successful visits by the PM abroad. To Saudi Arabia, it was the second visit. The most significant outcome is the launching of the strategic council at the level of PM and the crown prince. There were dozens of agreements that were signed, and these were all in different sectors, including civil aviation, defence, security cooperation, small and medium enterprises. Another significant outcome was the launching of the RuPay card and integration of the e-migrate system with its Saudi counterpart. Overall it has been a great visit. There were very fruitful discussions between PM Modi and King Salman. All sectors were covered with the Crown Prince and eight other Saudi cabinet ministers. Overall I would say a very successful visit.
Question: How do see the relationship between the two countries panning out?
Ausaf Sayeed: The visit came eight months after Crown Prince's visit, and the fact that successive visits at this level have taken place itself is a reflection that the two countries seek each other as dependable friends and strategic partners. And the mandate of the strategic partnership council itself is that there will be mandatory summit level meet in two years and ministerial-level engagement once every year apart from meetings on the sidelines of international grouping like G20 every year. We look forward to furthering engaging relationships, which will take our involvement in the next level in many domains.
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 "Ausaf Sayeed. Picture courtesy:Twitter/@drausaf")
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