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The Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin
Abdul-Aziz al Saud completed his
four-day state visit to India.
Abdullah officiated as the Chief Guest
at the Republic Day parade. India and
Saudi Arabia have signed accords to
cooperate bilaterally, regionally, and
internationally to combat terrorism;
Abdullah had called for a war on
terrorism “irrespective of religion”
and for “as long as it takes.” The
Delhi Declaration also says that Saudi
Arabia endorses the ongoing peace
process between India and Pakistan. On
the economic side, the two sides
agreed on an energy partnership with
complementary and interdependence of
the two countries. The partnership
also envisages long-term contractual
agreements that will guarantee
continued, increased, and stable
supply of oil, refinery, and
technology to India and joint ventures
globally. Apart from oil, the two
countries agreed to cooperate on
communication, agriculture,
biotechnology, and non-conventional
energy technologies. Further, India
would offer post-graduate and doctoral
education to Saudi students. Saudi
Arabia is the largest producer of and
has the largest known reserves of
crude oil in the world. India is Saudi
Arabia’s fourth largest trading
partner. A large number of Indian
expatriates live in and Haj pilgrims
visit Saudi Arabia. Indian major
conglomerate Reliance Industries
announced plans to set up a USD 8
billion oil refinery project in Saudi
Arabia.
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