India, Saudi Arabia deepen ties; ink five pacts

India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday inked five pacts after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince of the kingdom had a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid Al Falih, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which would pave the way for the government of the kingdom to invest in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund of India.

New Delhi's envoy to Riyadh, Ahmad Javed, and Saudi Arabia's Commerce and Investment minister Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, also signed a “Framework Cooperation Program” between Invest India and the kingdom's General Investment Authority on enhancing bilateral investment relations.

They also signed an MoU between the Government of India and the Government of Saudi Arabia for Cooperation in the field of housing.

Javed and Media Minister of Saudi Arabia Turki Abdullah Al-Shabanah signed an MoU for cooperation on broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and Saudi Broadcasting Corporation for Exchange of audio-visual programme. An MoU for cooperation in the field of tourism between the Ministry of Tourism of India and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage was also inked.