Terrorism will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his three-day visit to Saudi Arabia from Saturday when the two countries will sign an extradition treaty.
Singh will be the first Indian PM to visit Saudi Arabia in the last 28 years; the last visit was undertaken by Indira Gandhi in 1982. The prime minister will hold talks with King Abdullah on a number of bilateral and regional matters of mutual concern and also address the influential Shura Council.
The talks are also expected to focus on the crisis in Palestine, besides the situation in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. With both countries concerned over the rise of extremism and violence, security cooperation is likely to figure prominently during the talks.
Both India and Saudi Arabia are aware of the connectivity of extremist forces that have sanctuary and safe havens in the Af-Pak border area and are seeking to penetrate other countries of the region. New Delhi is concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia is perturbed over the stepped-up Al Qaeda operations from Yemen.
The two countries will sign an extradition treaty, a number of MoUs and agreements on transfer of sentenced persons, scientific and technological cooperation, peaceful use of outer space and cooperation in the IT sector.
