External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday met Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in New Delhi, with the meeting taking place on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit as India and Saudi Arabia look to further strengthen their strategic partnership, including in defence cooperation.
Jaishankar said the two ministers exchanged views on regional and global developments and discussed ways to advance bilateral cooperation.
“Pleased to meet the FM of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on the sidelines of BRICS India 2026. Exchanged perspectives on regional and global developments, as well as on advancing our bilateral cooperation,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
The meeting comes days after India and Saudi Arabia discussed defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening their strategic partnership.
The defence discussions took place when Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Vipul met Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Defence, Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari, in Riyadh on Thursday.
“Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Mr. Vipul, met H.E. Dr Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari, Assistant Minister of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh. The two sides discussed India–Saudi Arabia defence cooperation and exchanged views on regional developments, reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries,” the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a post on X.
The back-to-back engagements highlight the broader effort by India and Saudi Arabia to deepen their strategic partnership as they also remain engaged on regional developments.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh had also visited Saudi Arabia from September 5 to 8 as part of India’s ongoing diplomatic engagement with the Kingdom.
During the visit, Singh met Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Mansour Hilal Al Mushaiti and discussed bilateral cooperation in environment and climate action.
Singh also met Indian workers at the labour camp of Al Fanar Company and highlighted their contribution to strengthening people-to-people ties between India and Saudi Arabia. He reiterated the Indian government’s commitment to the welfare of the Indian diaspora abroad, particularly workers.
The Minister of State also held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy Adel al-Jubeir, reviewing the “excellent” state of bilateral relations and discussing cooperation on climate action.
Singh further met Saudi Arabia’s Human Resources and Social Development Minister Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi, with discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in the labour and manpower sector.
Jaishankar’s latest meeting with Prince Faisal, alongside the recent India-Saudi defence discussions, comes as both countries continue to expand their strategic engagement across multiple areas while closely following developments in the region.
(with IANS inputs)
