India, Saudi Arabia hold talks to boost defence cooperation

India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday held wide-ranging talks to further bolster bilateral defence cooperation. It is learnt that both sides explored the possibility of cooperation between the defence firms of the two countries. Officials said the main focus of the deliberations was to expand overall defence and security cooperation between the two sides.

The talks were held in Delhi and were co-chaired by Joint Secretary in the defence ministry Dinesh Kumar and Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Defence and Strategic Affairs Ahmed A Aseeri, officials said. It was the fifth meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation.

The meeting took place over four months after Saudi Arabia’s land forces commander Lt Gen Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair visited India. It was the first-ever visit by a serving Royal Saudi land forces commander to India which marked a deepening of bilateral defence cooperation.