By Sanjeev Miglani

02/20/2019

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Wednesday he expected investment opportunities worth more than $100 billion in India over the next two years as he began his first official visit amid tensions between arch foes India and Pakistan.

India rolled out the red carpet for the crown prince as it seeks diplomatic support against Pakistan following a militant attack in the disputed region of Kashmir.

The crown prince, whose country is facing frosty ties with Western countries after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was also given a lavish welcome this week in Pakistan where the two sides signed memoranda of understanding valued at about $20 billion to help prop up Pakistan’s economy.

In a joint press appearance after talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the crown prince said terrorism was a common concern and Saudi Arabia was ready to share intelligence with India to tackle it.

The two countries will start a security dialogue at the level of national security advisors and set up a working group on counter-terrorism, said T.S. Tirumurti, who handles economic relations at India’s foreign ministry.

“Both leaders called on all countries to renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy,” Tirumurti told a press briefing.

India blames Pakistan for not doing enough to counter militant groups that operate from its soil including the one that claimed responsibility for the Kashmir car bombing last Thursday.

Pakistan denies any involvement in cross-border terrorism and has said it would retaliate against an Indian attack.

“We face similar challenges, chief among them extremism and terrorism … and we reaffirm to India that we are ready to work in the intelligence and political arenas to coordinate our efforts…” the crown prince said.

Saudi Arabia’s domestic security structure helped put down an al Qaeda bombing campaign over a decade ago. But the kingdom continues to face occasional attacks by Sunni Islamic State fighters and Shi’ite militants in its Eastern Province.

Riyadh leads a coalition of Arab states fighting in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Iran-aligned Houthi fighters, who regularly fire rockets across the kingdom’s southern border.

NON-OIL TRADE

On trade relations, the crown prince said “we expect the opportunities we are targeting in India in various fields to exceed $100 billion in the coming two years”.

Sectors of interest included energy, infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing, Tirumurti said, adding that Saudi Arabia’s focus was on expanding non-oil trade with India.