His Royal Highness  Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid an official visit to the Republic of India during 28-29 February 2008. On his arrival at the airport in New Delhi, Prince Saud Al-Faisal and the accompanying delegation were received by the Minister of State for External Affairs of India H. E. Mr. E. Ahmed, the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Republic of India H.E. Mr. Saleh Mohd Al-Ghamdi and a number of  officials from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Saudi Embassy.

        HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal held talks with his Indian counterpart His Excellency Mr. Pranab Mukherjee at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. The two sides discussed ways and means to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation in various fields in the framework of Delhi Declaration signed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during the historic visit of King Abdullah to India in January 2006. The discussions focussed on the need to further invigorate the trade and investment relations and explore the possibilities of increasing mutual investments especially in energy, petrochemicals and infrastructure sectors. The two sides also reiterated the need to have foreign office consultations on a regular basis and exchanged views on the latest developments in the Middle East as well as in South Asia. HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal renewed his invitation to the Hon’ble External Affairs  Minister of India to visit the Kingdom and the Hon’ble Minister promised to undertake the visit as early as possible.

        After the meeting, the Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs of India hosted a working lunch in honour of Prince Saud Al-Faisal and the accompanying delegation. Among the Indian dignitaries that attended the lunch were the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the Minister of State for External Affairs, the National Security Advisor, the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and several high-level officials from the Ministry of External Affairs. The participants from the Saudi side included the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to India Mr. Saleh Mohd Al-Ghamdi and Ambassador Dr. Khalid Al-Jundan, Director General of Western Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

        In the evening, the Prime Minister of India His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh received HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, at his office in New Delhi. Prince Saud Al-faisal conveyed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister the greetings and the best wishes of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and reiterated to the Hon’ble Prime Minister the invitation extended to him by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to visit the Kingdom. The Hon’ble Prime Minister asked HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal to convey his deep appreciation and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and expressed his keenness to visit the Kingdom as early as possible. He also lauded the fast-growing relations between the two countries.

        During the meeting, the two sides reviewed all matters of mutual concern and discussed the ways and means to further deepen and expand the bilateral relations in the framework of Delhi Declaration.

        The meeting was attended from the Indian side by the National Security Advisor Mr. M.K. Narayanan, the Minister of State for External Affairs Mr. E. Ahmed, Secretaries of the Ministry of External Affairs Mr. N. Ravi and Mr. Sanjay Singh, India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mr. M. O. H. Farook and Private Secretary to the Hon’ble Prime Minister. From the Saudi side, Ambassador Saleh Al-Ghamdi and Ambassador Dr. Khalid Al-Jundan were present at the meeting.

        HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal left New Delhi on Friday morning, 29^th February 2008. He was seen off at the airport by H. E. Mr.E.Ahmed, Minister of State for External Affairs of India, Ambassador Saleh Al-Ghamdi and a number of officials from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Saudi Embassy in New Delhi.