Indian Defence Minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar

Indian Defence Minister to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar

Posted on: May 06, 2011

As part of India’s efforts to increase bilateral defence cooperation in the Gulf region, Indian Defence Minister A. K. Anthony will be heading for Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week. This will be the first visit by the Defence Minister to both the countries and his delegation will include Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. A. S. Lamba and other senior defence officials.

The three-day visit by Indian Defence Minister will begin with Saudi Arabia where the Indian delegation will hold meetings with top Saudi Arabian leaders to try and increase the scope of defence interactions through military trainings as well as technical exchanges.

Incidentally, 10 bilateral agreements including a defence pact were signed between the two countries in November 2008 during the Indian Prime Minster’s visit. The second stop will be Doha in Qatar where issues pertaining to bilateral exchanges as well as other regional security issues will be discussed. It is felt that India and Qatar can play a major role in maintaining permanent peace in the Indian Ocean.

In the past few years, India has enhanced its military ties with both Saudi Arabia and Qatar with bilateral visits and exchange programmers. The current visit by the Defence Minister will also look into the measures for anti-piracy in the region. The Indian Navy had earlier suggested joint patrolling of the Arabian Sea to ward-off piracy and has remarked that the Saudi navy is one of the best in the world. Saudi Arabia also is part of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium initiative by India, which sought to increase maritime cooperation among navies of the world. The Indian delegation will also discuss the possibility of joint naval and military exercises with Saudi Arabia.

Apparently, Vice Chief of the Indian army (retd. 2010), Lt. Gen. Milan Naidu had visited Riyadh and met the commanders of land and air defense forces and the chairman of the committee on security affairs last year. This resulted in greater synergy between the two nations and heightened cooperation in the fields of training, technical assistance and military hardware. An agreement was also reached to hold joint military exercises in Saudi Arabia with the Royal Saudi Land Force

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