Key takeaways from PM Modi’s Saudi Arabia visit

India inked a slew of agreements with Saudi Arabia, including for enhancing cooperation in counter-terror operations.

GN Bureau | April 4, 2016


#modi saudi arabia   #modi riyadh   #narendra modi  
Prime minister Narendra Modi meets business leaders in Saudi Arabia
Prime minister Narendra Modi meets business leaders in Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day tour of Saudi Arabia came to an end on Sunday. He is the fourth Indian PM to visit the Gulf kingdom after Dr Manmohan Singh in 2010, Indira Gandhi in 1982 and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956. Modi was conferred with Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash. 

 
Following are some key takeaways from the two-day tour:
 
• India and Saudi Arabia signed five agreements, including a key pact on cooperation in the exchange of intelligence related to money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes. The two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism operations, intelligence sharing and capacity-building and to strengthen cooperation in law enforcement.
 
• Agreement signed on labour co-operation between the ministry of labour of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ministry of external affairs of India for recruitment of general category workers.
 
• Technical cooperation agreement signed between the bureau of Indian standards (BIS) and the Saudi standards, metrology and quality organization (SASO).
 
• MoU signed between export promotion council for handicraft (EPCH) of India and Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage to promote cooperation in the field of handicrafts.
 
• India Invest and Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) signed an agreement on investment promotion cooperation.
 
• In a special gesture, PM Modi was conferred with Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash. Other world leaders who have received the same honour include Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, British PM David Cameron, US President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
 
• On the last day of his tour, Modi met Saudi women IT professionals at the first-of-its-kind all-women TCS training centre. Describing them as the “glory of Saudi Arabia” the PM didn’t miss a photo op and posted a selfie with them. TCS established the first all-women business process services centre in Riyadh in 2013. 

 
 
• He also interacted with 30 Saudi CEOs and Indian business leaders in Riyadh, describing India and Saudi Arabia as old friends, ready to take bold new steps to a golden future.
 
• He also shared a meal with workers at the L&T workers’ residential complex in Riyadh.
 
• Modi gifted Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz a gold-plated replica of Kerala’s Cheraman Juma Masjid, believed to be the first mosque built in India by Arab traders. 
 
 
 
 

Comments

 

Other News

Repo rate cut by 25 basis points to 6.25%

The Reserve Bank of India has, for the first time in five years, reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.25% with immediate effect. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate will stand adjusted to 6.00% and the marginal

Amitav Ghosh’s new work: Connections between the word and the world

Wild Fictions: Essays By Amitav Ghosh HarperCollins, 496 pages, Rs 799.00 Amitav Ghosh, one of a handful of Ind

How markets can help (and also hinder) fight against pollution

In the annals of environmental policy, few ideas have been as transformative as the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Born from the minds of economists in the late 1960s, this market-based approach to pollution control has evolved from a theoretical concept to a global tool in the fight against climate chang

Will Bihar complement the resolution of Viksit Bharat 2047?

As India completes its diamond jubilee as a republic, I am reminded of a statement by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, delivered during an address to the Bihar Chamber of Commerce in Patna on March 28, 2006. He said, “I have visited Bihar numerous times, and it has always been a source of happiness for me to

All you wanted to know about Budget: Key Highlights

Here are the key highlights of the proposal of the Union Budget presented in parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Satuday: NO INCOME TAX ON AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME OF UPTO RS 1 LAKH; TO BOOST MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS & CONSUMPTION BENEFITTING

Four engines of development: Agriculture, MSME, investment & exports

Union minister of finance and corporate affairs Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025-26 in Parliament on Saturday. Here is the summary of her budget speech, Part A: Quoting Telugu poet and playwright Shri Gurajada Appa Rao’s famous saying, ‘A country is not just its

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now



Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter