NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister and India’s foreign minister discussed global developments on Friday, after top diplomats from the world’s 20 largest economies met in New Delhi.
Foreign ministers from the Group of 20, which includes the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, China and the European Union, arrived in the Indian capital for the second high-level meeting under India’s chairmanship of the G20 this year.
Discussions on Thursday were dominated by tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, preventing them from finding enough common ground to craft a joint statement by the end of the summit.
The G20 meeting was continued with a face-to-face meeting held by Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with several participants.
In a morning meeting with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhane, Jaishankar said they discussed “global developments”.
“Good chat this morning with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhane,” Jaishankar said on Twitter. “I appreciate Saudi Arabia’s support for the G20. We also discussed global developments.”
During a session of the G20 meeting dedicated to promoting multilateralism, development cooperation and food and energy security, Prince Faisal reiterated “the importance of resolving conflicts and political tensions that prevent effective action in facing global challenges and exacerbate economic fragmentation,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He therefore praised “the efforts of the Indian government during its chairmanship of the G20”, and New Delhi’s efforts to consolidate multilateral action in light of current global political and economic challenges.
Experts see that the involvement of the Saudi foreign minister in India will bring the two countries closer on global policy issues.
“The main point of Saudi foreign policy is to follow an independent foreign policy based on strategic autonomy. This makes Riyadh very close to New Delhi in its approach,” said Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Arabic News.
“The most important aspect in the message conveyed to me from the G20 today is the need for Southern countries to cooperate with each other. “I don’t believe there is any possibility in the near future that Western countries will participate in a serious dialogue on global issues,” Talmiz added.
Tamiz signaled that now is the time for countries like Saudi Arabia and India to work together more closely.
Muddassir Quamar, a Middle East expert and member of the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyzes in New Delhi, said the time had come for New Delhi and Riyadh to expand cooperation.
“There is enormous political and diplomatic momentum to strengthen relations,” he said Arabic News.
“Both countries have many common and shared interests when it comes to issues in the southern region, including climate change, ‘net zero emissions’ and so on. “They have worked together on these issues at the G20 and also in other forums,” explained Muddassir.
Mohammed Souleiman, director of the Strategic Technology and Cybersecurity Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, stressed that Saudi Arabia and India are natural economic and strategic partners, both aspiring to achieve strategic independence and assert themselves as key G20 countries.
“Delhi and Riyadh aim to bring parity between Washington and Brussels on the one hand, and Beijing and Moscow on the other, as the G20 becomes the de facto global governance mechanism,” he said.
Souleiman concluded: “The meeting between the Saudi Foreign Minister and Indian leaders in Delhi reflects the two countries’ shared goal of establishing more direct channels that are important for coordinating their positions on regional issues as well as the G20.”
This text is a translation of an article published on Arabnews.com
