New Delhi: Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Wednesday assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Kingdom will cooperate with India in tackling terror, but the Saudi leader didn’t have a word to say on either the Pulwama attack or Pakistan’s role in it.
The Crown Prince, who is on a day-long visit to India, also didn’t mention anything on backing India’s efforts in enlisting Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the United Nations.
The visit by the Crown Prince, also known as MBS, comes at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are at an escalated level over the Pulwama attack in Kashmir in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed and several wounded.
Pakistan-based JeM has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“As far as extremism and terrorism are concerned, we will fully cooperate in your efforts in tackling terror and share intelligence with India and neighbourhood. We share your concerns on terror,” the Crown Prince said, adding that ties with India are “in the Kingdom’s DNA”.
While the Crown Prince did not refer to the attacks Wednesday, his foreign ministry had condemned the Pulwama attack a day after the incident took place. It had stressed that the Kingdom rejects such “cowardly terrorist acts” and that it stands with India.
After his bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Modi said he discussed the Pulwama attack with him and briefed him on the counter-terrorism measures that India is planning to take.
“We discussed our firm stance that terrorists and countries that promote terrorism cannot be tolerated in the world. We need to punish not just the terrorists but also those countries who support them and provide them safe haven,” Modi said.
The Indian prime minister added that Saudi Arabia remains one of the key strategic countries for India.
Also read: PM Modi to urge Saudi Arabia to get its friend Pakistan to end cross-border terrorism
Terrorism
Neither Modi nor the Crown Prince made any reference to designating Azhar as an international terrorist at the UN.
However, during the two-day visit of the Crown Prince to Pakistan earlier this week, both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had stated the “need for avoiding the politicisation of UN listing regime”.
The statements made by the Crown Prince on combating extremism and terrorism during Wednesday’s visit are almost identical to what he said in Pakistan during his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In Pakistan, MBS, however, did speak of “martyrs” who sacrificed their lives in order to combat the scourge of terror.
The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to issue a joint statement on Saudi Arabia.
Trade and investment
While the Crown Prince cut a cheque of $20 billion for investing in Pakistan, he made just a commitment towards potential investment in India.
“PM Modi visited Saudi Arabia in 2016 and we have achieved success in these years. We have invested around $44 billion in India. There are opportunities to invest over $100 billion in India,” said the Saudi Prince.
The $44 billion that MBS spoke of has been invested in a proposed petrochemical plant in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. However, owing to a stiff opposition from the farmers there, the project is stuck. India is now planning to provide an alternate site to the Saudis to set up the plant.
Also read: Saudi Arabia signs investment MoUs worth $20 billion in Pakistan
Why Prince, our 56 inch wala PM has not uttered a word against Pakistan. He is ashamed to mention Pakistan. What a brave PM. Whah DARPOK Modi Wah.
An odd time for the visit, even without Pulwama, which happened after it was planned. Saudi Arabia’s rock solid commitment to Pakistan – emotionally deeper than what Pakistan shares with China – is a fact of life we must accept. We can and should create an independent relationship with KSA, as with Iran and Israel, that works for both sides. If there is a desire to break the impasse’ with Pakistan, the Saudis would be happy to offer their good offices. However, at a time when military options against Pakistan are being evaluated, one cannot expect any sort of endorsement or support from KSA. Although it may never be expressed openly, the well being of India’s 180 Muslims is important to Saudi Arabia, whose King’s official title designates him as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.