No Saudi support for Modi against Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday failed to win Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman’s support against Pakistan after the Pulwama suicide bombing which India blamed on Pakistan in a knee-jerk reaction.In a joint press meet, Modi and Mohammed bin Salman emphasised the need to fight terror in all forms.The two leaders “agreed” to put pressure on countries providing support to terrorism in any form, PM Modi said after holding delegation-level talks with Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).Asserting that Pulwama attack last week was another cruel imprint of terror, Modi said, “We agreed that to fight this challenge, there is need to put pressure on countries extending any kind of support to terrorism.”“Destruction of infrastructure of terrorism, ending support to terror and bringing the supporters of terrorism to justice is essential,” said PM Modi.Prince Salman said, “Extremism and terrorism are our common concerns. We will cooperate with you (India) in all possible ways including intelligence sharing to counter terrorism. We will work with all the countries to ensure a brighter future for the coming generations.”Later, briefing the media, TS Tirumurti, a secretary in MEA, said, “The two leaders condemned in the strongest terms the recent terrorist attack on Indian forces in Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir.”“Both leaders underlined the importance of comprehensive sanctioning of terrorists and their organisations by the United Nations,” said Tirumurti. Tirumurti denied that Saudi Arabia offered to mediate between India and Pakistan to de-escalate tension in the backdrop of Pulwama terror attack.“Both sides agreed on the need for creation of conditions necessary for resumption of the comprehensive dialogue...At this point in time, no mediation has been offered,” ANI quoted Tirumurti as saying.Modi welcomed the announcement of crown prince to invest $100 billion in India in a range of areas like energy, refining, petrochemicals, infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, etc.," T.S. Tirumurti said."This is a clear reflection of the confidence of Saudi Arabia in the vibrancy of the Indian economy and tremendous opportunities available in India for investment."Saudi Arabia wants to invest more, officials said."Economic power is shifting from West to East and India will be (the) second-largest economy ahead of the United States, which is a big opportunity for us," Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Aramco, the world´s biggest oil company, told a Delhi investment conference on Wednesday.Aramco signed an accord in April last year with Indian investors on a $44-billion petrochemical project in western India. Nasser, a member of the crown prince´s delegation, said his firm was in talks with other Indian firms as well.Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia has invested nearly $44 billion dollars in India since Modi´s visit to his country in 2016."We plan to diversify our investments in petrochemicals and other sectors," he said.Prince Mohammed, who was greeted with a traditional Modi bear hug at the airport late Tuesday, was expected to go on to China later Wednesday.India´s opposition Congress party meanwhile criticised Modi for welcoming the crown prince "with such abundance - only hours after he promised billions to Pakistan" while Indians were in grief over the Kashmir attack."PM Modi has shown the country, the martyrs and every soldier in India what he thinks of their service and sacrifice," the party said on Twitter.The Saudi Prince arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening on a two-day visit, which followed his Pakistan tour.During his press meet with Prince Salman, Modi said India-Saudi Arabia ties had strengthened since his 2016 visit to Riyadh for the signing of an agreement on cooperation in intelligence-sharing on terror financing.Modi said Saudi Arabia was the most valuable strategic partner of India in the Middle-East.Prince Salman said he saw investment opportunities of more than $100 billion in India over the next two years.The crown prince also said he wanted to expand commercial relations with India."Today we expect the opportunities we are targeting in India in various fields to exceed $100 billion in the coming two years... we want to work with you, Mr Prime Minister, to ensure these investments are made and to ensure useful returns for both countries."Calling Modi his “elder brother”, whose demand he couldn’t refuse, Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to increase the Haj quota for India to 200,000.The decision to increase the quota for India was taken over lunch Wednesday after the one-on-one talks between the two.Meanwhile, the Indian media begun to cry foul after a joint statement of Saudi crown prince’s visit to India was issued.The crown prince signed joint accords on industry and culture but announced no major deals.This did not went well with the biased Indian media and their extremist leaders who maintained that Saudi prince announced investment of $20 billion for Pakistan but not a single penny for India. The media also termed Modi a ‘traitor’ for not mentioning Pakistan in the joint statement.

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