Investment boost, defence ties focus of India-Saudi discussions

Modi invited Saudi businesses to invest in and partner with India in space and to global supply chains

- Rezaul H Laskar

JAIPUR: India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday unveiled a range of measures to boost defence cooperation and to bolster investments, including the setting of two oil refineries as joint ventures, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi curtailed his visit to the kingdom because of a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as he is popularly known, co-chaired the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, the apex body that oversees bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, during their meeting in Jeddah. They also held informal talks at Al Salam palace, though Modi decided to skip a formal dinner after reports came in of the terror attack near Pahalgam.

After a meeting of the bilateral High Level Task Force on Investments in Riyadh on Monday addressed several concerns on the Saudi side, including the taxation of investments, the two sides agreed on a range of measures to drive two-way investments. People familiar with the matter said this will pave the way for the Saudi side to go ahead with plans to invest up to $100 billion in India, which were first announced during MBS's visit to India in 2019.

Modi and MBS welcomed the decision to collaborate on establishing two oil refineries as joint ventures in India, Indian ambassador Suhel Khan told a media briefing. "They also welcomed the progress which has been made in the areas of taxation and the forward-looking agreements made to facilitate investments on both sides," he said.