Narendra Modi to visit Saudi Arabia in April

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it was announced on Tuesday.

Modi, invited by King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, will be the first Indian prime minister visiting the kingdom after Manmohan Singh, who visited Riyadh in 2010.

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During April 2-3 visit, the prime minister will hold discussions with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest, an official statement issued in New Delhi said.

"India and Saudi Arabia share friendly relations based on close people-to-people contacts. The 'Strategic Partnership' established through Riyadh Declaration in 2010 envisions a deeper engagement in political, economic, security and defence areas. In recent years, there has been significant progress in bilateral cooperation in such key areas of mutual interest," it said.

Saudi Arabia is also India's largest crude oil supplier accounting for about one-fifth of India's total imports.

Indians form the largest expatriate community in Saudi Arabia and their contribution in the progress and development of their host country is well recognised.

There are over 2.96 million Indian nationals presently working in Saudi Arabia.