National Security Adviser Ajit Doval travelled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a previously unannounced visit amid key developments related to the Gaza Peace Plan.
Doval arrived in Riyadh five days after a visit to Iran by deputy national security adviser Pavan Kapoor. The only official word on Doval’s visit was a social media post by the Indian embassy in Riyadh, which said the NSA was received at the airport by Indian envoy Suhel Khan and Saudi deputy minister Saud Al-Sati, a former ambassador to New Delhi.
The NSA is the most senior Indian official to visit Saudi Arabia since the kingdom concluded a mutual defence agreement with Pakistan last September. The visit will be an opportunity for the Saudi side to brief India on the pact with Pakistan and the latest developments in the context of the Gaza Peace Plan, people familiar with the matter said.
The visit also came a little more than a fortnight after a trip to India by United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, during which the two sides unveiled plans for finalising a strategic defence partnership and set a target to double bilateral trade to $200 billion.
On January 28, Saudi Arabia condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and the Red Fort terror incident at a meeting of the bilateral security working group. The two sides also reviewed ongoing security cooperation, and discussed threats posed by terror groups globally and in their regions.
Saudi Arabia also attended the India-Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi over the weekend that backed a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue.