Saudi Arabia crown prince to visit India next week; trade, energy security top on agenda
New Delhi : Defence, trade and energy security are expected to be high on the agenda when Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Defence Minister
Mohammed bin Salman holds talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to India next week.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and leading Saudi businessmen, Prince Salman will arrive India on February 19 on his maiden trip to the country, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement here.
During the visit, the Crown Prince will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on wide range of issues of mutual interest. He will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.
The visit by Prince Salman, who is also the vice president of Saudi Arabia's council of ministers, follows the highly successful trip of Prime Minister Modi to that country in April 2016, during which the two sides agreed to further elevate existing strategic partnership, the MEA said.
In recent years, there has been significant progress in bilateral cooperation in key areas of mutual interest, including energy security, trade and investment, infrastructure, defence and security, it said.
The bilateral trade was USD 27.48 billion during the last financial year 2017-18, making Saudi Arabia India's fourth largest trading partner.
Saudi Arabia contributes significantly to India's energy security needs by supplying about 20 per cent of crude requirements of the country.
Recently, Saudi ARAMCO in partnership with ADNOC of the UAE entered into a Joint Venture for USD 44-billion worth Ratnagiri Refinery and Petro-Chemical project Ltd.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also facilitates Hajj pilgrimage to over 1,75,000 Indians every year.
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Rahul Gandhi to attend friendly football match between Messi, Revanth Reddy in Hyderabad
Hyderabad (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will attend the GOAT India Tour event featuring football legend Lionel Messi at the RGI Cricket Stadium here on Saturday evening, Telangana Congress sources said.
A friendly match will be played between the two teams -- Singareni RR9 and Aparna-Messi All Stars. These two teams will be playing a 15-20 minute friendly match and five minutes before the game, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, a football enthusiast and Messi will join and will dribble the ball together.
Rahul Gandhi will land here on a special flight at 4.30 PM and will proceed to Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel where Messi will be staying.
After watching the game, Gandhi will leave for the national capital by 10.30 PM.
Elaborate security arrangements are being made for the event at the RGI Cricket stadium.
Rachakonda Police Commissioner Sudheer Babu said security would be provided with 3,000 personnel.
