India-Saudi Arabia Boost Defence Ties at World Defence Show 2026

In a post on X, the Embassy of India in Riyadh wrote, "Strengthening the India-Saudi - strategic partnership! Hon'ble Raksha Rajya Mantri @SethSanjayMP met with H.E. Dr. Khaled bin Hussein Al-Biyari, Assistant Minister of Defense for Executive Affairs of Saudi Arabia @modgovksa, on the sidelines of the World Defense Show @WDS_KSA in Riyadh."

"Discussions focused on deepening - defence cooperation and enhancing engagement across services. #WDS2026," the post further read.

This meeting came on the heels of the 8th Abu Dhabi Dialogue where India discussed migrant welfare and skills development with UAE.

Prashant Pise, Additional Secretary (Emigration Policy & Welfare), led the Indian delegation to the 8th Ministerial Consultations of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) held in Dubai from January 31 to February 1, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Established in 2008, the Abu Dhabi Dialogue is a regional, voluntary, and non-binding consultative mechanism comprising 11 Asian countries of labour origin and 7 destination states. It provides a platform for cooperation on contractual labour mobility, exchange of best practices, and sharing of experiences among Member States.

India's active engagement in the ADD reflects the Government of India's commitment to promoting safe, orderly, and legal migration, while safeguarding the welfare and rights of Indian migrant workers, as per the statement.

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) established diplomatic relations in 1972. While the UAE opened its Embassy in India in 1972, the Indian Embassy in UAE was opened in 1973.

The traditionally strong bilateral relations enjoyed by India-UAE gained a new momentum when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited UAE in 2015, the first PM of India in 34 years which marked the beginning of a new Comprehensive and Strategic partnership between the two countries.

This was followed by six other visits of the Prime Minister in the last 8 years, most recently in Feb 2024 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Indian community for the first time in Abu Dhabi at a community event and also inaugurated the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, the first in the Middle East.

- ANI