Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, and Vice President of India Hamid Ansari oversee the signing of a military cooperation pact between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Nizar Madani, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, and Jitendra Singh, India's minister of state for defense. — SPA Faheem Al-Hamid Okaz/Saudi Gazette NEW DELHI – Saudi Arabia and India signed an agreement for military cooperation in the fields of training, and exchange of expertise and visits of military personnel. The agreement was signed in the presence of Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, and Vice President of India Hamid Ansari by Nizar Madani, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, and Jitendra Singh, India's minister of state for defense. Signing of the agreement followed the meeting between the two leaders. Crown Prince Salman also attended a dinner hosted in his honor by Ansari. Speaking on the occasion, Ansari thanked the Kingdom for giving care and attention to the Indian expatriates in the Kingdom. He noted that the visits of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom have contributed tremendously in taking the bilateral relations to an excellent strategic level. Crown Prince Salman said the Saudi-India friendship is fast moving toward broad prospects of cooperation and partnership in the economic, commercial, cultural and scientific fields in a way serving the interests of the people of both the countries. Earlier, the Crown Prince said in his arrival statement that the visit comes within the framework of the keenness of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to consolidate cooperation between the two countries in all fields and to enhance consultation and coordination on regional and international issues. He said the relations between the two countries have witnessed a great qualitative leap after the path-breaking visits by King Abdullah to India in 2006 and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom in 2010. The Crown Prince pointed out that the two visits founded joint working programs for strengthening relations which the leaderships of the two countries are keen on implementing. On Thursday, Crown Prince Salman will meet President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He will also hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 7, Race Course Road. Minister of Defense A.K. Antony and Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid will call on the Crown Prince at Hotel The Leela Palace. On Friday, the Crown Prince will leave India after a whirlwind official tour to three nations. Sources said the Crown Prince has been "highly impressed" by India's development in various sectors. Saudi Arabia sees India as an attractive investment hub for its business interests in Asia and seeks Indian investments in areas such as consultancy, construction, telecom, information technology and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, there has been a significant progress in bilateral cooperation in key areas of mutual interest, including energy security, trade and infrastructure development projects. Saudi Arabia is India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of total imports in 2012-13. Indians form the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia. There are over 2.88 million Indian nationals working in Saudi Arabia and are considered "the most preferred community due to their expertise, sense of discipline and peace-loving nature." India is also setting its sights on railways. Apart from the mega contract for L&T for part of work on the Riyadh Metro project, there are other opportunities worth about $100 billion opening up as Saudi Arabia sets in motion a network extension plan for the next 30 years. – With agencies
