New Delhi:

Trade, economy, defence, and cultural cooperation are the main topics of discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud during the latter’s State visit today.

The Saudi Crown Prince arrived in Delhi for a three-day tour which began with the G20 Summit in the national capital.

During the high-profile meeting today at Delhi’s Hyderabad House, the two leaders will co-chair the First Leaders’ Meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, a bilateral agreement between India and Saudi Arabia signed by the two nations in Riyadh in 2019.

The leaders will assess the progress of the two ministerial committees of the Strategic Partnership Council, namely the Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation Committee and the Economy and Investments Cooperation Committee. They will also discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, including political, security, defence, trade, economy, culture, and people-to-people ties. Additionally, they will discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest, a government release stated.

India and Saudi Arabia have a long history of cordial and cooperative relations, with extensive people-to-people ties. According to government data, bilateral trade between the two countries reached an all-time high of USD 52.75 billion in fiscal year 2022-23.

PM Modi during his 2019 visit to Riyadh had said that India and Saudi Arabia have a Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) that meets regularly and that the two countries have identified a number of areas of mutual interest and cooperation in the field of defence and security.

The two economic powerhouses are also major trading partners. India is Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner, while Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest. The two countries have a strong partnership in the energy sector, with India importing a significant amount of oil from Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Arabian Crown Prince will be accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 10 am, ahead of his meeting with PM Modi at 11 am.

After concluding his engagements with PM Modi and other dignitaries, Prince Salman will meet President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 6:30 PM before departing from New Delhi at 8:30 PM.

This is Prince Salman’s second State visit to India.

During the two-day G20 Summit in New Delhi, Saudi Arabia was one of the signatories to the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

The initiative, seen by many as a potential alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, was jointly announced by PM Modi and the leaders of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Once completed, the project can serve as a modern-day Silk Road that functioned as the central trade route facilitating economic partnerships, political alliances, and cultural integration across continents. 

New Delhi:

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday praised India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant for “negotiations” with China and Russia to reach consensus on a joint communique from G20 leaders on the bloc’s stance on Ukraine war. Taking to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) account, the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala said that it is a “proud moment” for India at G20.

“Well done Amitabh Kant! Looks lile (sic) the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS,” Mr Tharoor said, and tagged an NDTV article on Mr Kant.

Well done ⁦@amitabhk87⁩! Looks lile the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS! “Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft,” says India’s G20 Sherpa on ‘Delhi Declaration’ consensus.
A proud moment for India at G20! https://t.co/9M0ki7appY

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 9, 2023

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Kant, a 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, spoke to NDTV and said that nearly 200 hours of “nonstop negotiations” were needed to ensure a joint communique from G20 leaders divided over the group’s stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine. He said the declaration was the result of multiple rounds of talks – from discussions with developing economies about the war’s economic impact to bilateral meets with Russia and China – and that consensus was only reached late Friday night.

Mr Kant, a former Niti Aayog head, also stated that the key was “working in partnership with sherpas” and that it was a joint effort of emerging markets – led by India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, and later Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – that brought pressure to bear on G7 nations and brought them to the table.

“(There were) close to 200 hours of nonstop negotiations… the Bali paragraph had broken down and we were struggling for nine months. Then, in one meeting, I took a plain screen and scribbled 15 basic principles we needed to follow. All sherpas then joined in and gave their perspectives,” India’s G20 Sherpa said.

“Based on this, we created a first draft… nobody really expected we would arrive at a consensus. The first draft triggered a number of reactions… people were pessimistic that we could every arrive at a consensus on Russia and Ukraine because multilateral forums across the world had failed to do so,” he added.

“From the first draft we went to a second… and a third. After that, I think what helped were bilateral meets with each country,” Mr Kant told NDTV.

“Important thing was to draw each nation’s red lines,” he said.

New Delhi:

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday praised India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant for “negotiations” with China and Russia to reach consensus on a joint communique from G20 leaders on the bloc’s stance on Ukraine war. Taking to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) account, the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala said that it is a “proud moment” for India at G20.

“Well done Amitabh Kant! Looks lile (sic) the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS,” Mr Tharoor said, and tagged an NDTV article on Mr Kant.

Well done ⁦@amitabhk87⁩! Looks lile the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS! “Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft,” says India’s G20 Sherpa on ‘Delhi Declaration’ consensus.
A proud moment for India at G20! https://t.co/9M0ki7appY

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 9, 2023

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Kant, a 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, spoke to NDTV and said that nearly 200 hours of “nonstop negotiations” were needed to ensure a joint communique from G20 leaders divided over the group’s stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine. He said the declaration was the result of multiple rounds of talks – from discussions with developing economies about the war’s economic impact to bilateral meets with Russia and China – and that consensus was only reached late Friday night.

Mr Kant, a former Niti Aayog head, also stated that the key was “working in partnership with sherpas” and that it was a joint effort of emerging markets – led by India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, and later Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – that brought pressure to bear on G7 nations and brought them to the table.

“(There were) close to 200 hours of nonstop negotiations… the Bali paragraph had broken down and we were struggling for nine months. Then, in one meeting, I took a plain screen and scribbled 15 basic principles we needed to follow. All sherpas then joined in and gave their perspectives,” India’s G20 Sherpa said.

“Based on this, we created a first draft… nobody really expected we would arrive at a consensus. The first draft triggered a number of reactions… people were pessimistic that we could every arrive at a consensus on Russia and Ukraine because multilateral forums across the world had failed to do so,” he added.

“From the first draft we went to a second… and a third. After that, I think what helped were bilateral meets with each country,” Mr Kant told NDTV.

“Important thing was to draw each nation’s red lines,” he said.

New Delhi:

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Saturday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would not be arrested in Brazil if he attends the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year.

Interviewed on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Delhi by news show Firstpost, Lula said Putin would be invited to next year’s event, adding that he himself planned to attend a BRICS bloc of developing nations meeting due in Russia before the Rio meeting.

“I believe that Putin can go easily to Brazil,” Lula said. “What I can say to you is that if I’m president of Brazil, and he comes to Brazil, there’s no way he will be arrested.”

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia has denied its forces have engaged in war crimes, or forcibly taken Ukrainian children.

Putin has repeatedly skipped international gatherings, and was not present at the G20 get-together in Delhi, sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute which led to the founding of the ICC. Lula’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Saturday, the G20 nations adopted a consensus declaration that avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states not to use force to grab territory.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

World leaders have arrived in Delhi for the G20 summit, including US President Joe Biden. Biden also held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his arrival.

PM Modi will also host a “working lunch” for the leaders on Saturday at the Bharat Mandapam, and President Droupadi Murmu will host a gala dinner for them.

G20 Chief Coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the G20 meetings held across locations in various states and Union territories are a “fine example of cooperative federalism”.

These meetings will “surely bring economic benefits to our country and citizens”, he added.

Here are the LIVE updates on the G20 Summit:

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