New Delhi, Nov 13 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said the situation in West Asia is a matter of deep concern, especially the conflict in Gaza.

In his opening remarks at the 2nd meeting of the Political, Security, Social and Cultural Committee under the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, with the participation of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, EAM said that India recognises Saudi Arabia as a very important factor of stability in the Middle East region.

He said India’s position has been principled and consistent with regard to the Middle East conflict. “While we condemn acts of terrorism and hostage taking, we are deeply pained the continuing death of innocent civilians. Any response must take into account the international humanitarian law and we support an early ceasefire.”

“India has also consistently stood for resolution of the Palestine issue through a two-state solution. We have contributed to the building of Palestinian institutions and capacities,” he added.

Earlier in his remarks, he said that the two nations enjoy long standing friendship and centuries old economic and cultural ties.

“Under the guidance of our leadership we have witnessed a deepening of our multifaceted bilateral ties across various domains. And while we are time-tested friends, our partnership is premised on progress and focused on the future.

“We have maintained a good level of high tempo engagements, and coordination across the multilateral forums.”

EAM said the Indian community in Saudi Arabia is 2.46 million strong, and thanked the Saudi leadership for ensuring their welfare and comfort.

“Our defence partnership has witnessed several firsts over the last few years, including the first land forces joint exercise in 2024, and two editions of our naval exercise. We’ve had regular exchanges in training and capacity building and our cooperation has expanded to defence industry and exports as well,” he added.

“Our security cooperation has also grown steadily, we are collaborating in counter-terrorism, combating extremism, terrorism financing, drug trafficking.”

EAM said Saudi’s Vision 2030 and Viksit Bharat 2047 hold complementarities for their industries to build new partnerships.

“Trade and investment and important pillars of our partnership and we are strengthening them in new areas including technology, energy, renewable energy, connectivity, health and education. We welcome efforts to promote cultural tourism and youth exchanges. And we see considerable potential in the field of media and entertainment.”

He said the two sides have similar interest in preserving the stability of the region and in driving their economies towards greater prosperity.

UNI