Terrorism, regional political issues and the sharp rise in bilateral commercial ties will be in focus for talks after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to arrive in Riyadh yesterday, Singh said.
The first Indian prime minister to visit the Middle East power in 28 years, Singh said in an interview published yesterday that he will seek to strengthen bilateral cooperation on fighting terrorism and promoting regional stability.
“India and Saudi Arabia belong to the same extended neighborhood,” he told the local Saudi Gazette.
“During my visit I propose to discuss with King Abdullah how we can promote greater stability and security in the region,” he said.
“Both King Abdullah and I reject the notion that any cause justifies wanton violence against innocent people,” he said.
“We are strong allies against the scourge of extremism and terrorism that affects global peace and security,” Singh said.
The two sides are concerned about al-Qaeda and other radical Islamic groups with footholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Saudi Arabia wields influence.
Iran’s nuclear drive is also a joint concern, though more nuanced for India which has its own nuclear arsenal.
“Our view is that Iran is a signatory to the NPT [Non-Proliferation Treaty]; it is entitled to all the rights that go with its membership of the NPT; and it must also observe all the obligations that go as part of the membership of the NPT,” Singh said.
The US has accused Iran of violating its NPT obligations by seeking to develop nuclear weapons, which Iran denies.
Also on the agenda is the growing economic linkage between the two sides. Bilateral trade is running at more US$25 billion a year, Singh said.
An estimated 1.6 million Indians work in Saudi Arabia, mostly low-skilled workers, who remit several billion dollars back home each year, an important source of foreign exchange for India.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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