Riyadh, Sept 12: External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar on Sunday termed Saudi Arabia an important player in the global economy due to its impressive growth numbers and its central position in the energy markets. Jaishankar, who is on an official visit to Saudi Arabia from Sept 10 to Sept 12, was responding to a Saudi news outlet in Riyadh. Addressing diplomats at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute of Diplomatic Studies, the Minister underlined the importance of the India-Saudi Strategic Relationship.
“Underlined the importance of India-Saudi Strategic Relationship at a time when the world is at crossroads,” the Minister wrote on Twitter informing about the event.
“Our collaboration holds the promise of shared growth, prosperity, stability, security, and development,” Jaishankar added in the thread.”Productive meeting with GCC Secretary General Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf. Signed the MoU on the mechanism of consultations between India and GCC. Exchanged views on current regional and global situation and the relevance of India-GCC cooperation in that context,” the Minister said taking to Twitter.
Dr. Jaishankar began his visit to Saudi Arabia with an interaction with the Indian community. He appreciated the contribution of the Indian diaspora in facing national challenges.
The Minister spoke to the Indians about the country’s resilience, especially during Covid times. Interacting with the Indian community, Jaishankar expressed confidence that India will be the fastest growing major economy in the world this year and will at least grow at 7 percent.
“Many other new challenges have come up because of the Ukraine crisis. Prices of oil and food have gone up. The price of shipping has gone up. But we are still very confident that India will be the fastest growing major economy in the world this year. We are confident that we will get at least 7 percent,” he said.
He said India has posted the highest export ever. Our total exports are 672 billion dollars, and the idea of India as a trading power has become credible, he said. The External Affairs Minister also said India’s economic recovery after the Covid period is worth studying.
“Many countries spent a lot of public money during the Covid period. Almost, I would say, like a knee-jerk. They were in a hurry to respond to the crisis situation. So they didn’t all of them necessarily use their funds their resources wisely,” he added.
The Minister credited the government schemes for avoiding a Spanish flue like situation during the Covid waves and lauded the country’s efforts to deal with the pandemic.
During the Spanish flu as many people died of food shortages and unemployment as with the disease, that didn’t happen, he added. India-Saudi Arabia relations have strengthened considerably over the past few years including in political, security, energy, trade, investment, health, food security, cultural, and defense fields.
