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MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Arabia’s Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to announce investments in energy and
infrastructure during a visit to India and Pakistan in coming days as part of
his efforts to wean the Saudi economy off oil exports, said Reuters.
He
is also expected to visit China, Malaysia and Indonesia during a tour that will
be his first through the region since the storm over the murder of Jamal
Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in
October.
Prince Mohammed is expected to sign agreements, mostly linked to
a refinery and the power sector, during the trip to Pakistan this weekend,
Pakistani officials said.
The memorandums of understanding will include renewable energy projects and
investments in petrochemicals and mineral resources, Saudi state news agency SPA
said.
The prince is expected in New Delhi next week, along with leading Saudi
businessmen, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s foreign
ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was among a handful of leaders who
attended an investment conference in Saudi Arabia in October, an event boycotted
by many companies and world leaders in protest over Khashoggi’s killing.
India’s Modi met the prince in November when they were both in Argentina for
a Group of 20 summit. Saudi Arabia is India’s top supplier of crude oil but the
two countries have expanded ties beyond energy, and their governments have
agreed to build a strategic partnership, the foreign ministry said.
In a statement, it cited cooperation in areas including energy security,
trade and investment, infrastructure, defense and security.
India is expecting Prince Mohammed to announce an initial investment in its
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), a quasi-sovereign wealth
fund, to help accelerate the building of ports and highways, an Indian official
said.
Saudi state media said Saudi officials will discuss investment in
NIIF. |
