The National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval visited Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's on Sunday and held high-level discussions with the kingdom’s senior leaders on energy cooperation among others, the Indian embassy in Riyadh.
“Hon'ble NSA Shri Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Riyadh on April 19. He was received at the Airport by Ambassador Dr Suhel Khan and Deputy Minister for Political Affairs @KSAmofaEN HE Ambassador Dr Saud Al-Sati. Later, he had meetings with Energy Minister HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Foreign Minister HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Advisor HE Dr Musaed Al-Aiban. During the meetings they discussed bilateral relations, regional situation and other issues of mutual intrests,” the Indian embassy in Riyadh posted on X.
Doval’s visit to the gulf nation comes on heels of the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s trip to the UAE and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s visit to Qatar. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among India’s top suppliers of crude oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Amid the West Asia crisis, these visits to the region’s key energy suppliers holds prominence as India eyes to ensure continued energy security with uninterrupted supplies that pass through de-facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. Around 35-50 percent of India’s crude oil shipments transit via the narrow waterway.
