Saudi Crown Prince MBS to advance investment talks on India visit
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives in New Delhi today, where he will hold bilateral talks with Indian PM Narendra Modi.
The talks come as Saudi Arabia has been increasing its economic support for neighbouring Pakistan. Riyadh has helped keep Islamabad afloat in recent months with emergency loans and crude imports, giving Pakistan time to negotiate assistance from the IMF. India has long been wary of Saudi involvement in Pakistan, which will have only been heightened after a recent suicide blast and MBS’ visit last week that saw him sign $20 billion in investment agreements.
Being heavily dependent on energy imports, Modi is expected to prioritise stabilising the prices of Saudi oil imports for the country. State-owned oil group Saudi Aramco is expected to agree to such plans and announce investments in Indian oil refineries as part of its own international production and refining efforts.
MBS’ visit is expected to result in significant new investment commitments between Saudi and Indian companies. If Riyadh can successfully navigate flareups in the tumultuous Pakistan-India relationship, it will be in a strong position to strengthen its ties with both countries.
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