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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Jeddah today on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. During his two-day visit on 22 and 23 April, PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. During this time, many global issues including defense will be discussed and PM Modi will also attend the second meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council. The main topics of discussion between the two leaders include energy cooperation, investment, defense and security partnership. Agreements like training of Saudi army by Indian Army can also be signed between the two countries.
will meet these special people
A large number of Indian expatriate community lives in Saudi. During his visit, PM Modi will also visit a factory in Jeddah and interact with Indian workers. This will be Prime Minister Modi's first visit to Saudi Arabia in his third term. Earlier, he has visited there in 2016 and 2019. This visit is taking place after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited India during the G20 summit in September 2023.
PM Modi's Saudi visit amid controversy over Waqf law
Let us tell you that PM Modi is going on a tour of Saudi Arabia when there is a lot of controversy in India about the Waqf Amendment Act. The Muslim leadership of India as well as the opposition are angry with this. Protests are being held against it in many states. Many changes have been made in the Waqf Act of 1995. Now the role of the central government has increased in the Waqf properties. The central government can now order the CAG or any other officer to investigate the accounts of the Waqf and the biggest concern is being expressed on the fact that the power of the Waqf Board has been reduced and the DM of the district has been given the right to decide whether the disputed land is Waqf or not.
Will there be a discussion on the Wakf Board dispute and changes in the law?
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a press conference on April 19 regarding PM Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia, in which Bloomberg asked Misri a question - Do you expect that the dispute of Waqf Board in India and the change in law will also be discussed between Prime Minister Modi and the Saudi Crown Prince? In response to this, Vikram Misri said, "I have not seen that any official or government department from Saudi Arabia has raised this issue. I am not very sure why this issue will come up in the talks between the two?
It is true that Saudi Arabia has not yet said anything publicly regarding the ongoing controversy over the Waqf Amendment Act in India.
Could this be a big deal?
Many agreements (MOUs) may be signed between the two countries during this visit of PM Modi. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the agreements are in the final approval stage and full details will be shared during the visit. He said that defense exercises have recently taken place between the armies of the two countries. Talks have also taken place at the staff level. This shows that relations in the field of defense are getting stronger.
He said, "India is becoming an important supplier of defense material to Saudi Arabia. Last year, a special agreement was signed on the export of ammunition worth about $ 225 million to the Kingdom." This means that India will now also sell weapons and defense related goods to Saudi Arabia.
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