Saudi army chief makes 'historic' first trip to India

The Saudi military chief Lieutenant General Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair arrived in India on a "landmark and historic" visit this week, the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement on its website.

According to the ministry, the Lt Gen Al-Mutair arrived in the country on Monday and concluded his visit on Wednesday.

The ministry noted that it was the first-ever visit by a serving royal Saudi land forces commander to India and marked a "deepening bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries."

It further said the aim of the visit was to bolster bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

Detailing the meeting with the Indian army chief, the communique said the Saudi dignitary "was briefed on security aspects".

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The ministry noted that ties between New Delhi and Riyadh had grown owing to common interests in "economic prosperity, eliminating the scourge of terrorism and mitigating the effects of climate change."

"Defence diplomacy forms one of the major tenets of the overall relationship," the statement maintained.

Earlier, it said, the foreign dignitary was presented a ceremonial guard of honour.

Meanwhile, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said Lt Gen Al-Mutair termed the visit "an important step to highlight the importance of military relations," thanking his "Indian counterpart for the invitation".

It added that following the meeting, the Saudi delegation also paid a visit to the Indian National Defense University.