Dubai–Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Mohammad bin Salman is likely to visit India on his way to Indonesia on November 14, to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Hindu reported on Sunday.
The visit is expected to last a few hours, and both leaders are expected to depart for Bali to attend the G-20 summit there on November 15-16, the report said and added that India’s foreign minister S Jaishankar had conveyed Modi’s invitation to the Crown Prince during his visit to Riyadh in September.
During their meeting, Modi and the Crown Prince are expected to discuss the situation arising out of Russian war in Ukraine, and the western coalition sanctions that neither India nor the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have joined.
Besides reviewing bilateral projects, the two leaders are also expected to discuss the progress on the Crown Prince’s promised $100-billion investment in India, especially in oil reserves and green energy, The Hindu reported.
The reports of Crown Prince’s visit in the Indian media appeared after the visit this week of Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman to India, as OPEC+ took a decision on cutting oil production. He had simultaneously held talks with Chinese officials online.
‘Advised against Algiers summit visit’
Doctors meanwhile advised the Crown Prince not to travel to Algiers for an upcoming summit, the Algerian presidency said Sunday, amid an absence of Saudi reports confirming health issues.
Mohammed bin Salman “apologised for not being able to participate in the Arab Summit to be held on November 1 in Algiers, in accordance with the recommendations of doctors who advise him not to travel”, the official Algerian news agency APS said, citing a presidency statement.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune responded during a phone call that “he understood the situation and regretted the crown prince’s inability to attend” the summit, expressing “wishes for his health and well-being”.
The story did not provide any explanation for the doctors’ recommendations.
Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A report on the call by the official Saudi Press Agency made no mention of the summit or any advice from Prince Mohammed’s doctors.
It said that during the call “the aspects of bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries were reviewed”, and that the two leaders discussed “opportunities for joint cooperation”.
