IANS/New Delhi

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arrived here yesterday on a three-day official visit during which the two countries are expected to sign an agreement on defence and enhance co-operation in hydrocarbons and security.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari received Salman on his arrival.
Salman’s is the highest level political visit from the kingdom after the January 2006 landmark trip by King Abdullah as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
The crown prince, 78, who is the deputy prime minister and defence minister, will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also hold talks with the vice president, who is a former Indian envoy to Saudi Arabia.
The two countries were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on defence for greater exchange of information and training. Also on the cards is enhancing co-operation in areas ranging from hydrocarbons to security. The two countries are also eager to work together in curbing money laundering and drug trafficking.
Saudi Arabia sees India as an attractive investment hub for its business interests in Asia and seeks Indian investments in areas such as consultancy, construction, telecom, information technology and pharmaceuticals.
This will be Salman’s second visit to India. He came in April 2010 when he was the governor of Riyadh province.
An official visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh in 2010 and the Riyadh Declaration signed on February 28, 2010, elevated the bilateral engagement to “strategic partnership” covering security, economic, defence and political areas.
“The visit is set to give a major boost to bilateral ties, as the two countries are expected to sign agreements and hold talks to boost co-operation in areas such as defence, trade, investment and energy,” said Mridul Kumar, joint secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs.