India extends Saudi Haj Minister invitation to visit the country

Riyadh: An invitation is extended to the Minister of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, to visit India. Dr Ausaf Saeed, Secretary (CPV & OIA) in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, met the Hajj Minister in person during his visit to Saudi Arabia and handed over the invitation letter from the Minister of Minority Affairs to visit. During the following meeting, preparations for the Indian Hajj pilgrims' visit were reviewed. In this way, the official visit program of Consular Division-Indian Overseas Affairs Secretary Dr Ausaf Saeed has come to an end.

Secretary (CPV &OIA) held wide-ranging consultations in bilateral meetings during his visit to Saudi Arabia. On the sidelines of his visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the first India-GCC Senior Officials Meeting, Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV& OIA), held wide-ranging bilateral meetings.

On the political side, Secretary (CPV& OIA) held comprehensive consultations with Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eng. Waleed bin AbdulKareem El-Khereiji. They reaffirmed their commitment to the strong bilateral strategic partnership, which transcends all key areas of cooperation, including political, economic, defence, security, cultural and people-to-people ties.

On the economic side, he met the Deputy Minister for International Partnerships in the Saudi Ministry of Investment, Mohammad Al Hassnah and discussed opportunities for bilateral investment exchanges. They discussed avenues to follow through the announcement, made during the previous visit of the Crown Prince to India in 2019, of Saudi investments worth USD 100 Billion in the Indian economy. They also deliberated on forming an investment bridge for accelerating the pending investment projects and facilitating investors. He also held a meeting with Dr Faisal Al-Sugair, President and CEO of the Saudi Centre for International Strategic Partnerships (SCISP) and discussed the progress made under the Committee on Economy and Investment of the Strategic Partnership Council (SPC). The agreed upon early conclusion of the priority opportunities identified under all four Joint Working Groups of the Economic Committee, i.e., I) Agriculture and Food Security JWG; II) Energy JWG; III) Technology and Information Technology JWG; IV) Industry and Infrastructure JWG.

Secretary (CPV& OIA) also called upon the Saudi Minister for Hajj & Umrah, Dr Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and reviewed the preparations for the visit of this year's Hajj pilgrims from India. He also extended him the invitation, on behalf of the Hon'ble Minister of Minority Affairs, to visit India at early convenience.