Saudi Arabia's military chief visits India this week. His three-day visit is being hailed as historic as it was the first visit to India by a Saudi army chief. Exactly three years ago, when Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia paid his first visit to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, ignoring protocol, arrived at the airport and received a warm welcome.
Muhammad bin Salman's visit was not only a formal one but also conveyed many messages in strategic and diplomatic circles. Muhammad bin Salman is also the Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia. A few months later, in October 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Saudi Arabia. A 'Strategic Cooperation Council' was also set up between India and Saudi Arabia during the visit.
Although relations between Saudi Arabia and India have been centered around oil, strategic experts believe that in the last few years, these relations have shifted to strategic cooperation other than oil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, told the English newspaper Arab News that "Saudi Arabia and India have similar security concerns." He also called for strategic cooperation between the two countries.
In December 2020, Indian Army Chief General MM Nirvana arrived in Saudi Arabia. This was the first visit to Saudi Arabia by an Indian military chief. The commander of the Saudi army, Lieutenant General Fahd bin Abdullah Muhammad Al-Mutair, also visited India on Tuesday.
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