RIYADH — Saudi Arabia and India are looking forward to strengthening their relations and developing them in all fields, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman told the Council of Ministers during its weekly session at Al-Yamama Palace here on Monday afternoon. The King said that his talks with the visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed by the two countries signified their deep bilateral ties. The two countries signed an agreement on labor cooperation for recruitment of general category workers, a technical cooperation program between the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), an executive program for cooperation in the field of handicrafts, an MoU on cooperation in the exchange of intelligence related to money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes, and a framework for investment promotion cooperation between Invest India and the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). The Cabinet commended the joint statement issued after the Indian prime minister's visit and its emphasis on forging a deeper partnership. The joint statement said the two countries rejected totally any attempt to link terrorism to any particular race, religion or culture. It on all states to reject the use of terrorism against other countries; dismantle terrorism infrastructures where they happen to exist and to cut off any kind of support and financing to the terrorists operating and perpetrating terrorism from their territories against other states; and bring perpetrators of acts of terrorism to justice. The two countries agreed to further strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism, both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system of the UN. The Cabinet confirmed the Kingdom's strong condemnation of the massacre committed by Bashar Al-Assad's forces in Deir Al-Asafeer area in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus. It re-asserted the Kingdom's emphasis on the necessity that countries especially the developed ones shoulder their international responsibility in alleviating the sufferings of the Syrian people.
