Finance
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday for a two-day visit to attend the inaugural India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers meeting.
Jaishankar is here for the first phase of his three-nation tour, which will also take him to Germany and Switzerland.
“Arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to take part in the First India – Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Thank Abdulmajeed Al Smari, Deputy Minister for Protocol Affairs for the warm reception,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
The GCC is a prominent association that includes the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait. India’s trade with GCC countries totaled USD 184.46 billion in fiscal year 2022-23.
In Riyadh, Jaishankar is also likely to hold bilateral discussions with foreign ministers from other GCC member countries.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi stated on Saturday that India and the GCC have a deep and diversified partnership, including in commerce and investment, energy, culture, and people-to-people contacts.
“The GCC region has emerged as a major trading partner for India and is home to a large Indian expatriate community, numbering around 8.9 million,” it said in a statement.
“The Foreign Ministers meeting will be an opportunity to review and deepen institutional cooperation between India and the GCC across various sectors,” it said.
Source:IE
