PM Modi, Saudi Crown Prince talks in Shadow of Pulwama Terror

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 20, 2019 : Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was welcomed with a ceremonial reception at the Presidential Palace Rashtrapati Bhawan hours after he arrived in New Delhi for a day’s visit on Tuesday evening. At the airport last evening, he was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a warm hug. The visit of "MBS", as he is popularly known, is being closely watched after his two-day stint in Pakistan, where he praised Islamabad’s efforts for "regional peace and security" just days after a terror attack in Kashmir’s Pulwama by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad, in which 40 soldiers were killed, NDTV reported.

 

"Relations between India and the Arabian peninsula is in our DNA," Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told reporters, at a time there has been criticism in India of his Pakistani sojourn.

PM Modi broke with government protocol to personally welcome the Saudi Prince; he was seen wrapping the 33-year-old in his traditional bear hug by the steps of the Prince’s plane. "A new chapter in bilateral relations," tweeted a foreign ministry spokesperson.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is accompanied by his ministers and a large business delegation. He is expected to hold bilateral talks with PM Modi later today.

Sources told NDTV that India and Saudi Arabia are likely to issue a "strong statement on terrorism" after Wednesday’s meeting between PM Modi and the Prince. India, sources said, has a "strong, independent relationship with Saudi Arabia" and that "Pakistan should be feeling insecure, not India".

Amid India’s efforts to diplomatically isolate Pakistan over the Pulwama terror attack, the Saudi Crown Prince has announced investments worth 20 billion dollars at the end of his two-day visit to Islamabd on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has vowed to "de-escalate" rising tensions between Pakistan and India during the high-profile summit in Islamabad. Ajoint statement said during the talks, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Prime Minister also stressed that "dialogue is the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region to resolve outstanding issues".

"They also underlined the need for avoiding politicisation of UN listing regime," the joint statement said in an apparent reference to India’s effort to include list Jaish chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist under UN rules. Jaish has taken responsibility for Thursday’s attack in Pulwama.