6th India-Saudi Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation meeting in Riyadh

The 6th meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 4 September 2024. 

The Indian side was led by Joint Secretary Amitabh Prasad, which included officials from the Ministry of Defence. Major General Salman Bin Awadh Al-Harbi led the Saudi Arabian delegation.

According to the Union Defence Ministry, the two countries discussed ways to expand bilateral cooperation in areas such as military, training, defence industry, research and development, etc. 

The Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation was set up during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2019. Both countries agreed to establish a Strategic Partnership Council to guide the India-Saudi relationships.

The Joint Committee Defence Cooperation was one of the four Joint Working Groups established under the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council.

About Saudi Arabia 

Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country in West Asia and the birthplace of Islam.

It is home to Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca, where Prophet Muhammad was born and Medina.

It is one of the largest exporters of crude oil in the world.

Capital: Riyadh

Currency: Saudi Arabian riyal

Prime Minister: Mohammed bin Salman 

India Malaysia Sign MoU on Tourism 

India and Malaysia have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in tourism. Malaysia is an important tourist market in India, and around 2.5 lakh Malaysian tourists visited India in 2022. 

The agreement was signed by the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Y B Dato Sri Tiong King Sing.

The main objective of the MoU is 

• To promote and market the tourism products and destinations,
• To encourage investment in tourism-related infrastructure ;
• Exchange information regarding medical tourism and its promotion,
• Promote business tourism
• Promote the development of community-based tourism, ecotourism and responsible tourism.

Recently, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, visited India. See the details