The Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will visit India from February 26-28. He will be accompanied by a delegation comprising cabinet ministers, senior officials and prominent businessmen from the country.
During his three-day visit, Prince Salman will meet Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari among other senior officials.
The two sides are expected to discuss a host of bilateral and international issues of mutual interest. Discussions on the developments in Afghanistan, Syria and other parts of the Middle-East are expected to be on the agenda. India and Saudi Arabia are also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on defence.
India and Saudi Arabia share close bilateral, cultural and trade ties. In 2012-2013, bilateral trade crossed $43 billion. Saudi Arabia is India’s largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of our total imports in 2012-13. With about 3 million Indians working in Saudi Arabia, they form the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia.
This is the highest level political visit to India from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after the visit of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in January 2006 as the chief guest of the Republic Day celebrations.