Minister of State for External Affairs and Environment holds high-level talks in his first official visit to the Kingdom, meets Indian workers at Riyadh labour camp
RIYADH: India and Saudi Arabia on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in labour welfare, climate action and skill development, as Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh, concluded his first official visit to the Kingdom. The four-day visit, from September 5 to 8, saw the Minister hold a series of high-level meetings with senior Saudi dignitaries and engage extensively with the Indian community, workers and business leaders in the country.
Shri Singh travelled to the Kingdom at the invitation of H.E. Eng. Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, with whom he held wide-ranging discussions on cooperation in the labour and manpower sector. During the talks, the Minister commended the labour market reforms carried out by the Kingdom in recent years and conveyed India’s appreciation for the measures taken by Saudi authorities to safeguard the welfare of the roughly 2.6 million-strong Indian expatriate workforce in the country.
Bilateral and Climate Talks
In a separate meeting with H.E. Mr Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Affairs Envoy, the two sides reviewed the broader bilateral relationship and exchanged views on regional and global issues of shared concern, in addition to matters relating to climate change. The Minister also called on H.E. Eng. Mansour bin Hilal Al Mushaiti, Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture. The Saudi side briefed him on the Kingdom’s environmental initiatives, including the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, while Shri Singh spoke about India’s own efforts on sustainability and environmental protection. Both sides agreed to explore avenues to deepen cooperation in the environment sector.
Outreach to the Diaspora
Beyond the official engagements, the visit was marked by extensive interaction with the Indian diaspora. The All-India Steering Committee, functioning under the patronage of the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, organised a community reception for the Minister, at which he lauded the diaspora’s contribution to deepening India-Saudi ties. At a separate business luncheon hosted by the Embassy, Shri Singh met Indian entrepreneurs, investors and professionals based in the Kingdom and underlined the importance of building stronger business and technology networks between the two countries.
In a gesture underscoring New Delhi’s continued focus on the welfare of its overseas workforce, the Minister also visited a labour camp run by the Alfanar company in Riyadh, where he interacted directly with Indian workers about their living and working conditions.
The visit is being seen as a significant step in consolidating the India-Saudi Arabia strategic partnership, which has expanded steadily across trade, energy, security and people-to-people ties in recent years. Officials in both capitals said the discussions held during the trip would help build on the momentum generated by recent high-level exchanges between the two countries.
