With a view to give a boost to bilateral defence cooperation between India and its important partners in the Gulf, the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony will be leaving New Delhi on Saturday on a three day visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This is going to be the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to both the countries. Shri Antony will be accompanied by the Defence Secretary Shri Pradeep Kumar, the Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen AS Lamba and other senior officials of MoD and the Armed Forces.
In the first leg of his visit to Riyadh, Shri Antony will have meetings with the top Saudi leadership on issues of bilateral and regional importance. The visit aims at paving the way for enhanced defence interactions between the Armed Forces of the two countries, especially in areas of training and technical exchanges. India and Saudi Arabia have been having regular exchange of defence related visits and interactions. Indian and Saudi ships have also been visiting each other’s ports from time to time.
In the second leg of his visit, Shri Antony will be going to Doha. Expansion in bilateral exchanges and regional security issues will come up prominently during the discussions that Shri Antony will hold the Qatari leadership. It may be recalled that India and Qatar had signed a bilateral agreement on defence cooperation during the visit of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Doha in November 2008. The Indian and Qatari Armed Forces have also been exchanging visits and have participated as observers in each other’s exercises from time to time.
During his sojourn in Riyadh and Doha, Shri Antony will also be meeting representatives of the large Indian community in both the countries.
Indian Press Information Bureau
