Following Friday’s meeting of the top diplomats from the world’s 20 largest economies in New Delhi, the Saudi foreign minister and his Indian counterpart met to discuss developments around the world.
Group of Twenty (G20) foreign ministers, including those from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Russia, China, and the European Union, have gathered in New Delhi for the second high-level ministerial meeting of India’s G20 presidency.
Tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the talks on Thursday, making it impossible for them to reach a consensus and issue a joint statement.
After the G20 summit, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with each participant separately.
He claimed to have discussed “global developments” with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in their morning meeting.
According to Jaishankar’s Twitter, he had a “good conversation” with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan this morning. Thank you for Saudi Arabia’s participation in the G20. Developments on a global scale were also discussed.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Prince Faisal “reiterated the importance of resolving conflicts and political tensions hindering effective action on facing global challenges and exacerbating economic fragmentation” during the G20 meeting’s session on promoting multilateralism, development cooperation, food and energy security.
He “praised the efforts of the Indian government during its presidency of the G20,” as New Delhi has been working to strengthen multilateral action in response to the current global political and economic challenges.
The activities of the Saudi foreign minister in India are expected to strengthen ties between the two countries, according to experts.
The focus of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy is on preserving the country’s strategic independence. Talmiz Ahmad, a former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said to Arab News that this shows how similarly minded the Kingdom is to his country.
“Right now, the most crucial part of the G20’s message to me is the requirement that countries in the South work together. I see no hope for a serious international dialogue involving Western countries in the foreseeable future.
Increasing cooperation between countries like Saudi Arabia and India is necessary now, Talmiz said.
The time is right for New Delhi and Riyadh to expand their cooperation, according to Muddassir Quamar, a Middle East expert and fellow at New Delhi’s Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses.
‘There is immense political and diplomatic momentum in favor of strengthening the ties,’ he told Arab News.
“The two sides have been cooperating on these issues at the G20 as well as other forums” “The two sides have many mutual and shared interests when it comes to issues of the Global South, including climate change, net zero, and so on.”
Since both countries seek strategic independence and are actively establishing themselves as major players in the G20, they make natural economic and strategic partners, according to Mohammed Soliman, director of the Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
As the G20 develops into the de facto global governance mechanism, “Delhi and Riyadh aim to present a middle ground between Washington and Brussels on the one hand, and Beijing and Moscow on the other,” he explained.
According to the Washington Post, “the meetings between the Saudi foreign minister and Indian leaders in Delhi reflect the two nations’ common objective of building more direct channels that are crucial to coordinate their positions on regional issues and the G20.”
