Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia promoted to new job at home

JEDDAH: In a historic first, Royal Saudi Land Forces commander Lt. Gen. Fahd bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair arrived in New Delhi on Monday.

Each Saudi Arabia and India share widespread safety issues and try to be strategic protection companions by being main regional gamers.

On Tuesday, India’s Chief of Military Employees Gen. M.M. Naravane acquired Lt. Gen. Al-Mutair within the South Block lawns of India’s Ministry of Protection, the place the latter was offered with a customary guard of honor.

The chiefs, together with their respective delegations, held discussions to assessment the current state of army cooperation and problems with mutual curiosity.

Al-Mutair additionally met with officers of the Indian Armed Forces.

Constructing on relations following the historic go to of the chief of the Indian Military in December 2020, each commanders have spoken repeatedly to observe the progress of a mutually agreed-upon roadmap of bilateral relations.

Protection relations between the 2 international locations have seen a notable upswing within the final 12 months with a collection of high-level interactions and the primary bilateral naval train, “Al-Mohed Al-Hindi,” carried out in August 2021 in Jubail, within the Jap Province.

Regardless of COVID-19 journey restrictions, officers from each the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and the Indian Armed Forces are present process coaching in varied army institutes of the 2 international locations.  

“This 12 months, we count on extra exchanges and coaching actions to be carried out between the 2 pleasant international locations,” stated India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr. Ausaf Sayeed.

“New areas of cooperation are being mutually recognized, together with intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, synthetic intelligence and cyber safety, along with conducting the first-ever land forces train within the second half of 2022,” he stated.

As India celebrates 75 years since establishing its diplomatic relations with the Kingdom, Sayeed defined, protection cooperation stays one of many key pillars of bilateral relations between the 2 international locations.

“King Salman’s imaginative and prescient was to offer a significant impetus to protection relations, which he himself elevated to a brand new stage by signing the Memorandum of Protection Cooperation in 2014,” he stated.

“Since then, there have been quite a few constructive initiatives underneath the steering of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” he added.