KSA Army Chief Lt Gen Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair and Gen MM Naravane, his Indian counterpart, held an extensive talk to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.
KSA army chief and his Indian counterpart discussed common issues such as military cooperation, economic aspects, climate issues and counter-terrorism in the meeting, said a press release issued on Thursday by the Indian Ministry Of Defence.
Though two army chiefs discussed other issues, more emphasis will be given to strengthening bilateral defence relations between the two countries.
In this regard, KSA Army Chief said, “This visit is an important step to highlight the importance of military relations. He also extended his thanks to the Indian chief of army staff for the invitation.”
After the meeting, the Saudi delegation paid a visit to the Indian National Defense University.”
On Thursday, Lt Gen Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair came to India on a historic visit.
Gen Naravane received the Saudi Land forces, Commander, in the South Block lawns of Ministry of Defense.
The visiting general officer was thereafter presented with a customary Guard of Honor.
The three-day visit is the first-ever by a Saudi Land forces Chief to India and is a testament to the growing bilateral defence ties between the two regional powers.
It’s noteworthy that the defence relations between the two countries have seen a notable upswing in the last year with a series of high-level interactions and the first bilateral Naval exercise “Al Mohed-Al Hindi” conducted in August 2021 on the Eastern Coast of the Kingdom at Jubail.
Despite Covid induced travel restrictions, officers from both the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Indian Armed Forces are undergoing training in the various military institutes of the two countries.
This year we expect more exchanges and training activities to be conducted between the two friendly countries. New areas of cooperation are being mutually identified to include intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, artificial intelligence and cyber security.
Also on the agenda during the discussions between the two chiefs will be the first-ever land forces exercise to be conducted in the second half of 2022.
This year India, KSA celebrated 75 years of establishing its diplomatic ties.
