Army Chief Gen Naravane likely to visit Saudi Arabia & UAE next week to boost defence ties

Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane will be visiting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next week with an aim to boost defence and security ties with the two Gulf nations. According to PTI, General Naravane is likely to leave for the two-nation tour on Sunday. He is expected to stay for two days each in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

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Army Gen Naravane to visit Saudi Arabia & UAE

The Chief of Army Staff's first destination would be Saudi Arabia, PTI reported. Gen Naravane would be staying in Riyadh for two days before heading to the UAE. During his stay in both countries, the Army Chief will meet his counterparts and senior officials. 

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Earlier in November, the Army Chief had travelled to Nepal for three days. In October, Gen Naravane along with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had visited Myanmar to further deepen military and defence ties between the two nations. During this visit, India had decided to supply an attack submarine to the Myanmar Navy. 

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Ties between India & Gulf countries

India's relations with the Gulf countries have witnessed an upswing after ties between Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan suffered a dip. Pakistan's ties with the Gulf countries frayed when Pakistan refused to send troops to join Saudi and Emirati troops in Yemen. Apart from this, Pakistan's growing ties with Turkey and Malaysia is also one of the reasons for the dip in ties with the two Gulf countries. Earlier in August, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had expressed his displeasure at Saudi Arabia not convening an Organisation of Islamic Conference meeting on Kashmir.

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