Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Saudi Arabia from April 22 to 23, 2025, at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. This will be PM Modi's third visit to the country, following earlier visits in 2016 and 2019, for which the Kingdom is setting stage in full gear.
As part of the visit, PM Modi is expected to visit a factory where Indian workers are employed. He will interact with them during his time there.During a special press briefing on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the visit will provide an important opportunity to discuss key regional and global issues. These include the situation in West Asia, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and threats to maritime security due to Houthi attacks.
Misri also said that India and Saudi Arabia are likely to deepen their defence cooperation and expand their economic ties. Currently, bilateral trade between the two countries is valued at around USD 43 billion.
PM Modi's visit is being seen as a significant step in strengthening India's ties not just with Saudi Arabia, but with the entire Gulf and Islamic world.Former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla noted that under PM Modi's leadership, the India-Saudi relationship has seen a major transformation, helped by the Prime Minister's strong personal bond with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The visit comes after the Crown Prince visited New Delhi in September 2023. He was in India for the G20 Summit and also co-chaired the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.
Several memoranda of understanding (MoUs), including one on green hydrogen, are expected to be signed by the two sides following the Modi-Salman talks, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday.
There will be an effort to infuse a “strategic” dimension to the India-Saudi Arabia energy cooperation, he said, without elaborating.
The foreign secretary said Modi’s visit will provide an opportunity to build on the already strong strategic partnership between India and Saudi Arabia. Misri also indicated that there could be discussions on how to take steps to facilitate Saudi Arabia’s plan to invest USD 100 billion in India as announced during the crown prince’s visit to India in 2019.
Misri said India approached the issues flagged by the Saudi side with a “very open mind” and assured about addressing its “concerns”.
He said the implementation of the ambitious India-Middle-East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEEC) project may figure in the talks between Modi and Salman.
“We are attempting to give more substance to the partnership. The opening of defence procurement is one major area,” he said.
“But setting up an architecture through which or on the basis of which the two countries engage with each other at the leadership level and at the professional operational level as well is going to be an area of attention in the months and years ahead,” he said.
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