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In a first, Antony goes to Saudi Arabia on key defence visit
Saturday February 11, 2012 06:03:25 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi: As part of
India's larger geopolitics and global security strategy, A.K.
Antony will pay a two-day visit from Monday to Saudi Arabia, the
first ever Indian defence minister to visit the kingdom.
During his stay in Saudi Arabia, India's key energy security
partner, Antony will carry out a security dialogue aiming to
provide a major boost to the two countries' defence cooperation.
The dialogue will go beyond the two nations' existing defence
cooperation arrangement in the field of training exchanges, port
visits by each other's warships and high-level military delegation
visits.
"This is going to be the first ever visit by an Indian defence
minister to Saudi Arabia," said a defence ministry spokesperson.
Antony will be accompanied by a high-level delegation that
includes Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, Indian Army vice
chief Lt. Gen. S.K. Singh, Indian Navy deputy chief Vice Admiral
Satish Soni and Indian Air Force's Air Vice Marshal M.R. Pawar.
Antony will hold discussions with Saudi Defence Minister Prince
Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, and meet other leaders, the
spokesperson said.
Antony's visit is expected to facilitate discussions on areas
where such cooperation can be expanded, hold talks on regional
security issues such as terrorism and piracy.
Antony will also be interacting with representatives of the about
two-million-strong Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia.
India and Saudi Arabia may not have a formal defence cooperation
agreement, but the two countries have in the last decade enhanced
their interaction with their militaries holding joint training
exercise, particularly in counter-insurgency and mountain warfare
techniques.
Their navies too cooperate, with bilateral port visits as also in
the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Saudi Arabia is a very important nation from India's perspective,
as it is a key member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
and one of the top oil exporting countries.
India with its large Muslim population sees Saudi Arabia from the
global perspective as the seat of Islam's two most scared sites --
Mecca and Medina -- to which a large number of Indian Muslims go
on pilgrimage annually.
Saudi Arabia also has one of the largest concentrations of
non-resident Indians and people of Indian origin, who go there in
search of livelihood and contribute heavily in terms of foreign
remittances.
Antony hails from Kerala, which probably has sent the largest
number people to Saudi Arabia as work force.
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