EAM Jaishankar, Saudi FM discuss advancing bilateral cooperation

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Sunday met Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, holding discussions on advancing bilateral cooperation.

“Pleased to meet the FM of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on the sidelines of BRICS India 2026. Exchanged perspectives on regional and global developments, as well as on advancing our bilateral cooperation,” EAM Jaishankar stated on X.

India and Saudi Arabia on Thursday discussed defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening their strategic partnership.

The discussions came as Indian Ambassador Vipul met Saudi Arabia's Assistant Minister of Defence, Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari.

"Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Mr. Vipul, met H.E. Dr Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari, Assistant Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh. The two sides discussed India–Saudi Arabia defence cooperation and exchanged views on regional developments, reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries", the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia wrote in a post on X.

Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh was also on an official visit to Saudi Arabia from September 5-8.

During his visit, Singh met Saudi Arabia's Vice Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Mansour Hilal Al Mushaiti and discussed bilateral cooperation in the fields of environment and climate action.

The minister also met Indian workers at the labour camp of the Al Fanar Company and hailed the role of Indian workers in cementing ties between India and Saudi Arabia. He expressed the Indian government's commitment to the welfare of the Indian diaspora abroad, especially workers.

Singh held a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy Adel al-Jubeir and reviewed the "excellent" state of bilateral ties. They also discussed cooperation on climate action.

MoS Singh also met Saudi Arabia's Human Resources and Social Development Minister Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi and discussed strengthening cooperation in the labour and manpower sector.

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