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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced infrastructure and trade agreements after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Prince Mohammed, also known as MBS, arrived in India on Tuesday for a two-day visit hoping to strengthen business and energy ties after a highly publicized trip to neighboring Pakistan.
India and Saudi Arabia have signed five agreements on infrastructure, investment, tourism, housing, broadcasting and on the creation of a "strategic partnership council".
Indian Prime Minister broken with the protocol when he went to the airport and hugged the besieged Saudi prince, who was trying to rebuild his reputation following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The prime minister is expected to meet foreign leaders at an official ceremony at the presidential palace and not on airport runways.
For the MBS, visits to Pakistan and India are more about image management than anything else
Michael Kugelman at the Wilson Center in Washington
"This MBS trip will bring our relations to a new level, we already have important energy, political and economic links," Talmiz Ahmad, former envoy to Saudi Arabia, told Al Jazeera.
"We must focus on regional security and stability, which is a concern for both countries.
"Saudi Arabia and India should work together in Afghanistan, this is a golden opportunity, India can also offer diplomatic services to reduce mistrust between Saudi Arabia and Iran," he said. added.
Kashmir sentenced
The MBS tour in Asia coincided with hostilities between New Delhi and Islamabad that broke out last week, after a suicide bombing in Indian-administered Kashmir killed at least 40 paramilitary forces.
New Delhi has accused Islamabad of complicity in the attack, a charge refuted by Pakistan.
The Indian Prime Minister spoke about the attack at a joint press conference with Prince Mohammed and baderted that there was an agreement with Riyadh "aimed at putting pressure on all countries supporting terrorism ".
MBS responded by saying "terrorism and extremism are a common concern" for India and Saudi Arabia. However, he did not mention Pakistan.
"I want to say that we are ready to cooperate with India in any way, including by sharing information," said Crown Prince. He added that India and all "neighboring countries had to work together".
Later, a joint statement issued after the press conference said: "The Prime Minister and His Royal Highness condemned with the utmost firmness the terrorist attack perpetrated on February 14, 2019 against the Indian security forces in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. "
"Historical and friendly" links
Both leaders seemed eager to maintain a solid relationship.
"Relations between India and Saudi Arabia are part of our DNA.The Indians are contributing to the construction of Saudi Arabia for 70 years," said MBS at the end of the year. A welcome ceremony held at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
India has always had "historical and friendly" ties with Saudi Arabia, said Modi at a joint press meeting Wednesday as a result, according to what he called , "global" discussions with Prince Mohammed.
"Relations between India and Saudi Arabia will be a factor of stability, peace and security in our region and in the world," Modi said in an interview with Saudi Gazette on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, MBS announced an initial investment agreement in its national investment and infrastructure fund, a quasi-sovereign wealth fund, designed to speed up the construction of ports and highways. in India.
"The Saudis investing in this fund is a big problem, and they have been talking for a long time about the contribution of its resources to infrastructure development in India, which is a long – term area of interest for the government. India, "said the former Indian envoy Ahmad.
Prince Mohammed's visit took place shortly after his trip to Pakistan, his Indian rival, which was the first leg of a trip to Asia also including China. Last Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced the signing of agreements with Pakistan worth $ 20 billion.
India's ties with Saudi Arabia have grown considerably over the past two decades, with bilateral trade reaching $ 28 billion. With over 2.7 million Indian expatriates, the Kingdom is India's fourth largest trading partner.
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Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, is considering setting up a large refinery in India, but the project has been delayed due to land acquisition problems.
Amin Nbader, CEO of Aramco, said Wednesday that "India is an investment priority" for the company.
Riyadh is India's largest source of energy supply, providing 20% of its crude oil.
This MBS trip will take our relationship to a new level. We already have important energy, political and economic links
Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia
"These are big sums of money, and there are good reasons to believe that such amounts could be subject to conditions." Let's be clear – such sums are not given by charity, they are given for the purpose to serve interests, "Michael Kugelman at the Wilson Center in Washington told Al Jazeera.
"MBS could provide this badistance provided that Pakistan and India are getting closer to the Saudis and getting closer to Iran.It is a daunting challenge for New Delhi, which maintains a deep energetic relationship and extended with Tehran, "he said. .
With the blocking of US sanctions on Iran's oil exports, Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that Indian oil companies seek to cover for most of the supply shortage in case Tehran's oil exports dry up.
India, the world 's third largest oil consumer, covers more than 80% of its oil needs through imports.
Prince Mohammed is facing a major political crisis following the murder of Khashoggi at the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October.
"For MBS, visits to Pakistan and India are more about managing the image than anything else," said badyst Kugelman.
"Prince Salman knows that Saudi Arabia's reputation has taken a heavy blow and he wants to show the world that his country continues to have friends and do business."
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