• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman co-chaired the second meeting of the India–Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) at the Royal Palace in Jeddah on April 22.

• PM Modi decided to cut short his two-day visit and departed for New Delhi following the terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Highlights of the meeting:

• The leaders reviewed the progress under the SPC since their last meeting in September 2023 in New Delhi.

• The two leaders discussed cooperation in the fields of energy, defence, trade, investment, technology, culture and people-to-people relations. 

• To reflect the deepening of defence partnership over the past few years — including joint exercises, training programmes, and collaboration in defence industry, the SPC decided to create a new Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the SPC.

• PM Modi appreciated the support provided by the Saudi government for the Indian Haj pilgrims.

• Both leaders appreciated the progress in the discussions in the High-Level Task Force on Investment. 

• They welcomed the understanding reached by the Task Force in multiple areas, which builds on the earlier commitment of Saudi Arabia to invest $100 billion in India across multiple sectors including energy, petrochemicals, infrastructure, technology, fintech, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and health. 

• In this context, they particularly welcomed the agreement to collaborate on establishing two oil refineries in India, as well as the progress achieved on taxation issues. 

• The two leaders discussed progress in India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), particularly the bilateral connectivity initiatives being undertaken by the two sides.

• PM Modi invited the Crown Prince to visit India for the third meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council.

MoUs signed during the visit:

i) MoU between Department of Space, India, and Saudi Space Agency in the field of space activities for peaceful purposes.

ii) MoU between India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Health on cooperation in the field of health.

iii) Bilateral agreement between India’s Department of Posts and Saudi Post Corporation (SPL) for inward foreign surface parcel.

iv) MoU between India’s National Anti-Doping Agency of India (NADA) and Saudi Arabia Anti-Doping Committee (SAADC) for cooperation in the field of anti-doping and prevention.

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