Saudi king concludes strategic energy partnership with India
Saudi Arabia-India, Politics, 1/28/2006

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has concluded his historical visit to India on Friday by commitment to develop "a strategic partnership in the field of oil" between the two countries.

The agreement is also for "close and effective cooperation to fight terrorism" in a special step "provides for a new phase in the Indian- Saudi relations."

In the first time in the history of the kingdom, King Abdullah signed with the Indian prime minister an agreement on "developing a strategic partnership in the sector of energy and the economy," aiming at "increasing the Saudi oil exports to India, and supporting joint investments for the private and public sectors companies in energy projects in the two countries.'

The agreement calls for founding "joint projects for fertilizer factories which depend on natural gas in Saudi Arabia.. and Saudi investments in refining, marketing and storing oil in India, in line of economic feasibility."

In the field of security, the agreement stresses the "need of enhancing and coordinating bilateral and regional cooperation relations and international cooperation to fight terrorism and eliminate it," as well as cooperation in the field of fighting "money laundering, drugs and smuggling of weapons."

While King Abdullah stressed that this is the first agreement of its kind signed by a Saudi King with any country, Riyadh and New Delhi consider that this visit is the beginning of a new "phase in Indian- Saudi relations" and "a historic step in developing understanding and cooperation between the two countries."

Meantime, the Saudi king received in his residence, the Indian vice President Sing Sheikhawat and the chairperson of the ruling Indian Congress party Sonia Ghandi and the leader of the opposition at the Indian parliament L K Advani, before he was invested with an honorary doctorate from the Islamic university in New Delhi.

In a unannounced visit, the Saudi king stopped in Hong Kong on Friday evening.

Previous Stories:
  Saudi King in India after China: Asian partnership in trade   (1/25/2006)
  Saudi Arabia, India for boosting bilateral relations   (1/22/2001)
  Indian foreign minister arrives in al-Riyadh on January 19   (1/11/2001)

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