Riyadh, September 10, 2022, SPA – Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf affirmed the importance of strengthening the GCC-Indian relations to serve common interests. This came during his meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Riyadh today. The two sides held a session of official talks and reviewed relations of cooperation between the GCC countries and the Republic of India. They also discussed aspects of the GCC-Indian relations in many fields of joint cooperation. Then, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the GCC Secretariat General and the Republic of India. For his part, the GCC Secretary General affirmed that the relations with the Republic of India are among the most important historical and solid relations between the GCC countries and the Republic of India, asserting that India is one of the largest trading partners of the GCC and an ideal model for addressing challenges and seizing opportunities, particularly in the fields of investment and economy. He praised the bilateral relations between the GCC countries and the Republic of India in light of the economic cooperation agreement signed between the GCC and India in 2004. The two sides reviewed the developments of the joint working group with regard to free trade negotiations and the importance of completing the work of the joint team concerned with studying all economic and trade aspects between the GCC countries and India. --SPA 23:53 LOCAL TIME 20:53 GMT 0021 www.spa.gov.sa/w1783089