The Saudi-India forum, organised by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) in New Delhi, made headlines for a map which was not in accordance with the Indian government's depiction of Jammu and Kashmir. The map, which was the backdrop of the event, did not show the two peaks of Jammu and Kashmir state inside the country.
Instead, the northernmost state was shown with its borders limited to the Line of Control (LOC) which separates Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The event was organised by SAGIA in partnership with the Saudi Center for Strategic Partnerships (SCISP) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
One of the discussions which took place in the forum was the future energy partnerships between Saudi Arabia and India. The panellists for the discussion included Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi commerce minister Majid Al Qasabi and NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar, reports Hindustan Times. Unfortunately, no one took responsibility for the incident and kept passing the blame on the other organization.
"The event was jointly organised by SAGIA and CII but the pre-event agenda, along with details, were sent by SAGIA," a representative of CII told HT. A government official said that the NITI Aayog was only invited to participate in the energy discussion and was not involved in the organization of the event in any way.
The Saudi Crown Prince's maiden visit to India comes after the tragic death of at least 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama on February 14, Thursday. Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. This soured the relationship between India and Pakistan.
On the first day of his visit, Crown Prince Mohammad-bin-Salman pledged $20 billion to India in the form of investments. At the SAGIA event, the organization announced the signing of four investment agreements totalling to $28 million between the two countries. 11 memorandums were also signed.
