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At a time when diplomatic receptions are a rarity, each External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval attended Saudi Arabia’s national day, reflecting the significance hooked up by India to its ties with the dominion.
Besides Jaishankar and Doval, the occasion held on the Saudi embassy on Wednesday night was additionally attended by minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
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This was solely the second diplomatic reception held by a serious embassy within the wake of coronavirus illness (Covid-19)-related restrictions, with the opposite being the national day occasion hosted by the Afghan embassy.
While the NSA has attended each the Afghan and Saudi national day receptions lately, it’s uncommon for each him and the overseas minister to affix the identical reception.
The final time an exterior affairs minister had attended a diplomatic reception was in 2018, when late Sushma Swaraj had joined an occasion on the Russian embassy because the chief visitor.
In a message posted on Twitter, Jaishankar had prolonged greetings to his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud and the federal government on the national day. “Our expanding cooperation across so many sectors reflects the intrinsic strength of our ties. Look forward to further advancing our Strategic Partnership,” he stated.
Addressing Wednesday’s reception, Saudi envoy Saud Al-Sati stated the dominion valued India as a “close friend and an important strategic partner”, and the socio-economic engagement and strategic partnership between the 2 sides relies on mutual respect and shared pursuits.
“Through the mechanism of the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC), we are working on further strengthening our partnership and deepening our friendship … In the beginning of 2020, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia had awarded 41 new foreign investment projects to Indian investors,” he stated.
The ambassador stated there may be enormous untapped potential in merchandise commerce, significantly non-oil commerce, and the 2 sides are enhancing cooperation within the business, funding and technological fields. “Current bilateral trade of approximately $34 billion will surely continue to grow,” he stated.
In latest years, India has ramped up its cooperation with Saudi Arabia, one of many nation’s high two suppliers of power, in fields starting from safety to know-how.
Saudi Arabia is residence to 2.6 million Indians, the biggest expatriate group within the kingdom.
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