Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely to visit India next month

Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman is expected to visit India in mid-November. The visit by the Saudi Crown Prince to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected while he will be on his way to Indonesia.  

November 14 is expected to be the date when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Crown Prince and PM Mohammed bin Salman may get a chance to hold a meeting expected to last a few hours.  

Meeting to come on the sidelines of G-20 summit

Both leaders are expected to depart for Bali, Indonesia, to attend the G-20 summit on November 15 and 16. The development comes after India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, had conveyed PM Modi’s invitation to the Saudi Crown Prince Salman, asking him to visit the nation at an “early date”. EAM Dr S Jaishankar had visited Riyadh for bilateral talks in September.

During the meeting, both leaders are expected to exchange views on the present energy security scenario due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the sanctions imposed by the western coalition that neither India nor the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has joined. Moreover, the visit will have geopolitical significance as US-Saudi tensions rose after the decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production. Following OPEC’s decision, US President Joe Biden, who will also be in attendance at the G-20 summit in Bali, had warned of “consequences” for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In Delhi, the two leaders are additionally expected to review bilateral projects between both nations including the progress on PM Salman’s 2019 promise of a “$100 billion investment” in India. The promise was particularly related to oil reserves, and green energy projects, which haven’t yet been fructified. Prime Minister Modi has visited Riyadh twice. Once in 2016 and then in 2019. He had announced a number of MoUs and projects with Suadi Arabia during the visits.