First Indian Defence Minister to visit Saudi Arabia

New Delhi, Feb 11: After successfully putting the age controversy to rest, Defence Minister AK Antony will have another critical job ahead. His visit to Saudi Arabia, a first by an Indian Defence Minister, will be critical to boost the defence ties with Saudi Arabia which have been good, albeit stagnant over the past few years.

Antony was set to visit Saudi Arabia in 2011. But the outburst of Arab Spring made him to defer the visit lest it sent out wrong signals globally.

Although India and Saudi Arabia have been undertaking join military exercise, training exchanges and ship visits, the two countries have not signed a defence cooperation agreement so far. The two countries have been exploring the possibility of enhancing military cooperation that includes training Saudi Arabian forces to tackle terrorism in the mountainous areas bordering Yemen. In fact, there are talks of India establishing a mountain warfare training school to help Riyadh improve their offensive and defensive capabilities.

Defence spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said: “The defence cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia is set to get a big boost with the Defence Minister embarking on a two-day visit to Riyadh beginning Monday (Feb 13). This is going to be the first ever visit by an Indian defence minister to Saudi Arabia.”

On his two day visit, Antony will be accompanied by a high level delegation including the Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General SK Singh, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Satish Soni and Air Vice Marshal MR Pawar.

In Riyadh, Antony will hold discussions with his counterpart Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, besides meeting other leaders.

Saudi Arabia is important to India’s strategic schemes as the country can be a gateway to the Arab and Islamic world; and key to balance Pakistan in amongst Islamic countries. Saudi Arabia wields considerable influence in the Arab and Islamic worlds and in organizations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The support of Middle-East countries, including Saudi Arabia, was instrumental in the success of Indian Navy’s Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, the pan-Asian security forum, when Pakistan opposed the grouping by playing the religious card and terming it antagonistic to the Islamic world.

With increase in maritime trade and the threat to by sea bandits, the Indian Navy has see the Gulf region falling within its security ambit and has deployed warships to maintain the stability of the region.