India and Saudi Arabia have joined the European Union and the United States in launching the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
The launch of the twin initiatives came hours after Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman arrived here to participate in the G-20 summit which will be followed by his state visit to India on Monday.
“We look forward to the integration of the initiative and the Economic Corridor Project which is announced in this meeting. I would like to thank those who worked with us to reach this founding step to establish this important economic corridor,” said Crown Prince Bin Salman in his brief remark at the event which was also addressed by President of EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, U.S. President Joe Biden, President Macron of France and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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During the state visit, the Saudi Crown Prince will hold bilateral delegation level meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council. “They will review the progress made under the two Ministerial Committees of the Strategic Partnership Council i.e. Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation and the Committee on Economy and Investments Cooperation,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement. Saudi Arabia and India have been increasing synergy which has reflected in the way the military-to-military and multilateral cooperation broadened between the two governments. Earlier last month, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were among the new permanent members inducted into the BRICS grouping that also included former rival Iran.
Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute Director of the Wilson Center in Washington DC has hinted that a “infrastructure accord” among the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are under process on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here saying ”If finalized, it would be a game changer that strengthens connectivity between India and the Middle East and would aim to counter BRI.”
‘Vision 2030’
The visit coincides with a three-day long event to highlight the most significant projects and initiatives under the “Vision 2030” of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry of Media is organising the event in collaboration with NEOM, the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Tourism Authority. The event named, “Media Oasis” is expected to be attended by several Saudi ministers as the country plans to showcase ‘Red Sea International’ that showcases the leading tourism objectives of the mountains and seaside resorts along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. That apart, the exhibition has sections to highlight the sports sector of Saudi Arabia, energy potential of the Saudi economy.
This is the second state visit to India by the Crown Prince and his previous India visit took place in February 2019. Prime Minister Modi had visited Saudi Arabia in October 2019 when the two sides established the Strategic Partnership Council. India and Saudi Arabia have been cooperating in multiple formats to deal with challenges. Most recently, Saudi authorities provided extensive support to Indian air force and navy to evacuate citizens who were caught in the civil war in Sudan. Indian citizens from conflict-torn Sudanese cities were brought to Jeddah and Port Said from Port Sudan with the help of Saudi naval and air support.
The MEA said, India is the second largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia and bilateral trade between the two sides reached $52.75 billion during 2022-‘23
