Joint team to prepare road map for Saudi-India defense cooperation
Defense Minister Prince Salman holds talks with his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony in Riyadh on Tuesday. (SPA)
By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS
Published: Feb 15, 2012 01:14 Updated: Feb 15, 2012 01:14
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and India agreed on Tuesday to set up a joint panel that will be entrusted with the task of preparing a road map for defense cooperation and to work out details of a proposed defense pact to be signed later in Riyadh.
This joint committee will also prepare a draft agreement to be endorsed by Riyadh and New Delhi in the field of hydrography, said A.K. Antony, Indian defense minister, after holding wide-ranging talks with Minister of Defense Prince Salman.
Antony said: "Prince Salman and myself agreed to establish a joint committee to work out the details of our future defense cooperation, including the details of an agreement in the defense sector."
He added the two sides were planning to conduct joint exercises involving Saudi and Indian armed forces, ship visits from both sides and to work closely to combat sea piracy. "There will also be high-level visits from both sides," he added.
"I had one-to-one talks with Prince Salman first and then we had a detailed delegation-level meeting," said Antony, adding Prince Salman has agreed to visit New Delhi later this year.
The Indian defense minister said an agreement on all issues will be "reached during the visit of Prince Salman to India and I am also hopeful that the agreement on defense cooperation will also be signed at that time."
He, however, said the specific details of the two agreements would be worked out at diplomatic levels.
The talks were also attended by top Saudi officials, including Prince Khaled bin Sultan, deputy minister of defense.
Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao, Defence Secretary Shashi K. Sharma, Vice Chief of Army Staff S.K. Singh, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Satish Soni and Air Vice Marshal M.R. Pawar attended the meeting from the Indian side. Prince Khaled hosted a luncheon for the visiting Indian minister at the Conference Palace on Tuesday.
Spelling out details of his meeting with Prince Salman, Antony said Riyadh and New Delhi would work together in the area of hydrography. Potential areas of cooperation in this field include exchange of information, nautical cartography and hydrographic surveys of important coastal areas, ports, harbors and designated sea areas. "We are also examining the possibility of entering into an agreement in this field," said the Indian minister, adding there will be substantial expansion in cooperation in the area of training.
Both sides will send their respective defense officers to so they can get to know each other and to join training programs, he added.
Antony pointed out the two countries have agreed "to explore the possibility of working together in the area of defense production." To this end, he noted the defense officials of Saudi Arabia will visit India and Indian defense personnel will also come to the Kingdom to see the defense production facilities for themselves and to map out areas of cooperation in defense production.
India is keen to boost its domestic production of defense equipment and warfare tools. Antony himself introduced the first defense production policy of India last year in a bid to significantly reduce New Delhi's dependence on defense imports, encourage private players and manufacture world class indigenous defense products. Asked about reports that India will be building a mountain warfare training school in Saudi Arabia, Antony said all issues will now be looked into by the joint committee.
He, however, did not provide details of the composition of the joint panel. He said: "The joint panel will try to work out an action plan for future cooperation in all fields." However, it is important to note that the Indian army is among the most experienced in the world in mountain warfare. The Indian soldiers have fought several wars and skirmishes in the most inhospitable mountain territories in the past. Hence, this can be a potential area for mutual cooperation between Riyadh and New Delhi.
On the question of sea piracy, he said the joint panel would work out details as how to handle sea piracy in the Gulf of Aden and waters of the Indian subcontinent and its extended neighborhood. “This is a major concern,” said Antony.
With naval patrolling getting tighter in the waters of the Gulf of Aden, which was previously notorious for pirate activities, the pirates now move to India's Lakshadweep Islands in the Indian Ocean. The two sides, hence, reviewed the security situation, said Antony. He said the current situation in the Gulf region is a cause for great concern for India and he hoped the crisis in the region would be resolved through peaceful dialogue.
He said the Gulf region is of immense importance in India's foreign policy. It provides more than half of India’s oil imports, said Antony. The region is perhaps the largest trading partner of India with total two-way trade reaching $130 billion in 2010-11, the minister said while speaking on Indo-Saudi relations. Hence, India would like to raise the profile of bilateral relations further, he said.
He said the Saudi side had also expressed their keen interest to boost relations further with India in all fields following the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. On other subjects taken up for discussions with Saudi officials, he said Prince Salman commended the contributions of Indian scholars in different fields. Prince Salman also fondly recalled the first visit of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Saudi Arabia and the late King Saud to India, said Antony.
Prince Salman also highlighted the visit of King Abdullah to India in 2006 that led to the strengthening of partnerships between the two countries. Saudi Arabia also offered additional crude supplies to India, an Indian government statement said on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia is the largest oil supplier to India, the world’s fourth biggest oil consumer. Indian refiners are currently scouting for supplies to gradually replace oil from Western sanctions-hit Iran.
Referring to his talks with Saudi officials, Antony reiterated that his discussions with Prince Salman and Prince Khaled would lead to specific initiatives to deepen defense exchanges for the benefit of both countries.
Earlier on Monday night, while addressing the Indian community, Antony described the Kingdom as an important strategic partner of India in the region. He said over 6 million Indians live and work in the region and the Indian government appreciates the assistance of their host governments toward their safety and well-being.
Talking about India’s economic successes, he said this has been achieved within the framework of India’s democratic and secular order. “In this order, every Indian enjoys freedom to pursue his beliefs and aspirations and has rights to ensure he can realize his dreams with the assurance that the state will protect his unique identity and individuality," said the Indian defense minister.
Antony, who wrapped up his two-day visit to Riyadh Tuesday evening, said India is working closely with all countries in the Gulf region in a coordinated manner to combat terrorism and for anti-piracy measures.
Antony expressed confidence that his visit will give a “new substance and direction” to Indo-Saudi defense ties, which constitute an important component of the emerging strategic partnership between the two countries.
Joint team to prepare road map for Saudi-India defense cooperation - Arab News
