New Delhi: Conflicts continue between several countries around the world, including the Middle East. Meanwhile, a defense agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is under close scrutiny. India on Thursday issued a response to the new defense agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. It stated that it will closely study the agreement’s implications for India’s national security and regional and global stability.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi acknowledges the formalization of the long-term arrangement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and will closely examine its potential consequences.
Jaiswal emphasized that India’s national security is paramount in light of this development. He said, “We have seen reports of the signing of a strategic mutual defense agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The government was aware that this development, formalizing a long-term agreement between the two countries, was being considered.”
We will study the implications of this development on our national security as well as regional and global stability. The Ministry of External Affairs statement said, “The Government is committed to protecting India’s national interests and ensuring comprehensive national security in all spheres.”
The Ministry of External Affairs’ comments came hours after Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement. It states that any aggression against either country will be considered an attack on both countries.
The agreement was signed during Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s state visit to Riyadh on Wednesday, at the invitation of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
According to the joint statement issued after the visit, “Continuing the nearly eight-decade-long historic partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and based on the bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity, as well as shared strategic interests and close defense cooperation between the two countries, His Highness the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister of Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement.”
The joint statement further stated, “This agreement, which reflects the shared commitment of both countries to enhance their own security and to establish security and peace in the region and the world, aims to develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression. The agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.”
