<p>India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban last month returned to power through a military offensive taking advantage of the withdrawal of troops by the United States.</p>.<p>External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a meeting with visiting Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud in New Delhi. They exchanged views on the developments in Afghanistan and other regional issues, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.</p>.<p>The meeting took place just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi categorically stated that the new government announced by the Taliban in Afghanistan lacked inclusivity and the international community should be cautious about recognising it.</p>.<p>Farhan had a few days back said that Saudi Arabia would respect the choices that the people of Afghanistan made regarding the future of their country, without external interference.</p>.<p>“Discussed our cooperation in the political, security and socio-cultural pillars of our strategic partnership. Very useful exchange of views on Afghanistan, the Gulf and the Indo-Pacific,” Jaishankar posted on Twitter after his meeting with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia.</p>.<p>This was the first ministerial visit from Saudi Arabia to India since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The two sides discussed issues related to the bilateral relationship and regional and international issues of mutual interest. They reviewed the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Council Agreement signed between the two sides during the visit of the Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia in October 2019.</p>.<p>“They expressed satisfaction at the meetings held under the Agreement and progress achieved,” Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said.</p>.<p>Jaishankar and Farhan discussed further steps to strengthen bilateral partnership in trade, investment, energy, defence, security, culture, consular issues, health care and human resources.</p>.<p>They also discussed bilateral cooperation in multilateral forums, such as United Nations, G-20 and Gulf Cooperation Council. The External Affairs Minister congratulated Saudi Arabia on its successful presidency of G-20 last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic. He appreciated the Saudi Arabian government’s support provided to the people from India, during the Covid-19 pandemic and urged Saudi Arabia to further relax restrictions on travel from India.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
<p>India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban last month returned to power through a military offensive taking advantage of the withdrawal of troops by the United States.</p>.<p>External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a meeting with visiting Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud in New Delhi. They exchanged views on the developments in Afghanistan and other regional issues, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.</p>.<p>The meeting took place just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi categorically stated that the new government announced by the Taliban in Afghanistan lacked inclusivity and the international community should be cautious about recognising it.</p>.<p>Farhan had a few days back said that Saudi Arabia would respect the choices that the people of Afghanistan made regarding the future of their country, without external interference.</p>.<p>“Discussed our cooperation in the political, security and socio-cultural pillars of our strategic partnership. Very useful exchange of views on Afghanistan, the Gulf and the Indo-Pacific,” Jaishankar posted on Twitter after his meeting with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia.</p>.<p>This was the first ministerial visit from Saudi Arabia to India since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The two sides discussed issues related to the bilateral relationship and regional and international issues of mutual interest. They reviewed the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Council Agreement signed between the two sides during the visit of the Prime Minister to Saudi Arabia in October 2019.</p>.<p>“They expressed satisfaction at the meetings held under the Agreement and progress achieved,” Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said.</p>.<p>Jaishankar and Farhan discussed further steps to strengthen bilateral partnership in trade, investment, energy, defence, security, culture, consular issues, health care and human resources.</p>.<p>They also discussed bilateral cooperation in multilateral forums, such as United Nations, G-20 and Gulf Cooperation Council. The External Affairs Minister congratulated Saudi Arabia on its successful presidency of G-20 last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic. He appreciated the Saudi Arabian government’s support provided to the people from India, during the Covid-19 pandemic and urged Saudi Arabia to further relax restrictions on travel from India.</p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
