Saudi Arabia orders release of 850 Indian prisoners

New Delhi: Coinciding with the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to India, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday ordered release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in its jails.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the decision was taken on the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Another big deliverable! At the request of the PM, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has ordered the release of 850 Indian prisoners lodged in Saudi jails," he said in a tweet.

He said Prince Mohammed has also announced an increase in the quota for Indian Haj pilgrims to 2 lakh at the request of Prime Minister Modi. The present quota is about 1.75 lakh.

During his visit to Pakistan two days back, Prince Mohammed had agreed to release over 2,000 Pakistani prisoners in Saudi jails.

United against terrorism

Against the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack, India and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said there was a need to exert "all possible pressure" on countries which extend any kind of support to terror activities as they agreed for biennial summit meetings and formation of the Strategic Partnership Council.

However, at the joint interaction with the media after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, there was no reference to Pakistan by either leader.

Modi said that the "barbaric terror attack" in Pulwama was another manifestation of the danger posed by terrorism to humanity.

"We agree that to deal with it effectively, there is need to put all possible pressure on countries which are giving any kind of support to terrorism," Modi said.

He said it was extremely necessary to destroy terror infrastructure and to punish terrorists and their supporters.

Modi said there was need for an action plan to deal with extremism so that the youths were not misguided by forces linked to terror and violence.

"I am happy that Saudi Arabia and India have common thoughts on this," he said.

Prince Salman, in his remarks, said that extremism and terrorism were common concerns of the two countries and Saudi Arabia will fully cooperate with India.

"As far as the issue of extremism and terrorism, these are our common concerns. We want to tell India that we are ready to cooperate with you in every way, whether it is intelligence sharing.. Not only India but we will work with all the countries in the neighbourhood so that the future of the coming generations is secured," he said.

Business opportunities

Prince Mohammed said India offers investment opportunities of over $100 billion and his country will work to make investments beneficial for both countries.

He said the relations between two countries were "older than history" and these were "in blood".

Modi said Saudi Arabia was among the most important strategic partners of India in the 21st century.

"It is in our extended neighbourhood, is a close friend and an important source of India's energy needs. I am happy that in accordance with your suggestion, we have agreed for biennial summit meetings and Strategic Partnership Council. This will strengthen our ties," he said.

Modi said the two leaders discussed all aspects of the bilateral relationship and decided to take it to new heights. "We agreed to create a structure to facilitate institutional investment from Saudi Arabia. I welcome Saudi Arabia's investment in infrastructure."

He said time has come to turn energy relations to a strategic partnership and noted that Saudi Arabia's participation in world's largest refinery and strategic petroleum reserve will take their energy relationship beyond that of buyer and seller.

He said the two countries have also decided to increase and expand their defence cooperation in the context of their strategic environment.

Modi said that e-visa facility for Saudi nationals is being expanded to boost trade and tourism and thanked Prince Salman for the increase in Haj quota for Indians.

He welcomed Saudi Arabia's participation in International Solar Alliance.

"Peaceful use of nuclear energy, specially for water desalination and health will be another aspect of our cooperation," he said.

He said presence of 2.7 million Indians in Saudi Arabia is an important link in bilateral ties. "You have always kept their welfare in mind and for this, their gratitude and good wishes are with you," Modi said.

Earlier, the crown prince, who is on his first state visit to India, received a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

He told the media that the ties between India and the Arabian Peninsula "is in our DNA".

"With the leadership of the president and the prime minister, I am sure we can create good things for Saudi Arabia and India," he said.

Prince Mohammed arrived in the capital on Tuesday for a two-day visit and was received by Modi at the Palam airport.