National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Sunday paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia in a bid to protect India’s strategic and economic interests, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Monday.
The visit, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underscores New Delhi’s stepped-up diplomatic outreach in the Persian Gulf as the region grapples with the fallout from the US-Israel war against Iran.
During an inter-ministerial briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Doval held high-level talks with the Saudi energy minister, foreign minister and his security counterpart.
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“On the Prime Minister’s direction, we are continuing to reach out to Gulf countries. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia on April 19,” Jaiswal said.
He added: “During his visit, he met the energy minister and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, as well as his counterpart. These meetings were useful in exchanging views on regional issues and strengthening bilateral ties.”
The Embassy of India in Riyadh earlier said in a post on X: “NSA Ajit Doval paid an official visit to Riyadh on April 19. He met with Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and National Security Advisor Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban.”
The talks were described as a critical exchange of views on regional instability and a step towards strengthening bilateral ties.
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Discussions focused on four “key pillars” critical to the India-Saudi relationship, ensuring stable supply chains despite threats to global trade routes, resolving issues in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Persian Gulf, enhancing intelligence sharing and coordination, and strengthening economic ties.
With regional spillovers affecting Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, India has maintained a calibrated diplomatic stance. While the conflict has disrupted shipping corridors and raised humanitarian concerns, Delhi continues to advocate restraint by all warring parties, the protection of civilians in conflict zones and a dialogue-based solution to prevent further escalation.
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More than 11 million passengers are traveling back to India
As the two-week ceasefire window in West Asia draws to a close on April 22, India has evacuated over 11 million passengers from the region through non-stop flights from various countries in the region to alternate routes.
The details were disclosed by Aseem Mahajan, Joint Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs during an inter-ministerial press briefing here in the capital on Monday.
Mahajan said flights from the region to India continue to operate from countries where airspace is open.
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“About 11,30,000 passengers have traveled from the region to India since February 28. Airlines continue to operate limited commercial flights between the UAE and India based on operational and security considerations. About 110 flights are expected to be operated from the UAE to India today,” Mahajan said.
He added that flights operate from various airports in Saudi Arabia and Oman to various destinations in India. With Qatar’s airspace partially open. Today, Qatar Airways is expected to operate around 10 to 11 flights to various destinations in India.
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He said that while Bahrain’s airspace is open, Gulf Air of Bahrain has announced that they plan to start limited flight operations from Bahrain to India. Gulf Air operates non-scheduled commercial flights from Dammam Airport in Saudi Arabia to various destinations in India.
With millions of Indian expatriates living in the Gulf and heavily dependent on energy imports from the region, the Ministry of External Affairs stressed that active engagement with stakeholders, including Israel, Palestine and Iran, is essential to protect India’s “strategic and economic interests” during this unprecedented period of geopolitical realignment.
