Modi meets Saudi crown prince, stresses on stable energy prices

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman here and stressed the importance of having stable and predictable energy prices.

They agreed to set up a mechanism to look into the possibilities of concrete action in terms of investment, technology, manufacturing and defence, with the Crown Prince stating that Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment into India's National Infrastructure Fund. 

The discussion on Thursday also touched on how Saudi Arabia can enhance its investment across a number of sectors in the next two to three years. 

Modi, who arrived here on Thursday to take part in the G20 meeting, also met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 

Talking to reporters, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said Modi's first bilateral meeting was with the Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and it was "very cordial and warm".

"The Prime Minister, in particular, stressed upon the importance of having stable and predictable energy prices. Some discussions took place between the two leaders on how Saudi Arabia can contribute and help in stabilising energy prices, particularly for India." 

He said the Crown Prince spoke of India "as an important partner" and there was specific discussion on how it can enhance its investment across various sectors. 

"The Crown Prince (said) Saudi Arabia will be finalising an initial investment into the National Infrastructure Fund. He also referred to future prospects for investment in the technology sector, energy sector and agricultural sector," Gokhale said. 

He said the Crown Prince was especially mindful of the contributions that Indians have made in building Saudi Arabia over the years. 

Gokhale said that during Modi's meeting with Guterres, the main subject of discussion was the forthcoming climate change meeting in Poland (COP24). 

He said Guterres acknowledged India's role in climate change negotiations and its concrete steps towards addressing challenges of climate change.

The UN Secretary General hoped that India will egg the developed and developing countries to come up with certain solutions which would eventually feed into the climate change summit that the UN Secretary General is planning in 2019.  - IANS