New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Friday said the reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi made by a US official while defending the immunity extended to Saudi Arabia Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman was neither relevant, nor contextual, nor necessary.
“The Ministry of External Affairs is aware of the remarks of the spokesperson of the US Department of State. In the Ministry’s view, the comments were neither relevant, necessary, nor contextual,” Muraleedharan, the Minister of State for External Affairs, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
He said India and the US enjoy a comprehensive global strategic partnership covering diverse areas with convergence of interests on a range of issues.
“This partnership has been boosted by vibrant people-to-people contacts. The strength of our partnership is reflected in the excellent rapport between the leaders of the two countries and in the robust engagement across all levels,” Muraleedharan said.
He said in the past year alone, there have been numerous meetings between political leadership of both countries, most recently at the G20 Summit in Bali in November.
When asked about giving immunity to the Saudi Prime Minister over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel had in a briefing in November said this was not the first time the US had done this and the same measure had previously been applied to a number of heads of state. PTI SKU VN VN
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