Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived on Tuesday evening on a two-day visit that is expected to focus on deepening strategic partnership between the two countries and deliver a strong message on terrorism. The crown prince reached the national capital shortly before 9 pm to a red carpet welcome.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also reached the airport along with other dignitaries to welcome him, embraced him in a bear hug as soon as he walked down the stairs of his plane.

“India is delighted to welcome HRH Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia,” PM Modi tweeted soon after.

The foreign ministry later called the visit – the Crown Prince’s first bilateral visit – a “new chapter” in bilateral relations between the two countries.

WATCH: PM Modi welcomes Saudi Crown Prince with a warm hug

The Saudi Prince had wrapped up his high-profile Pakistan visit last evening, the first stop on his south Asia and China tour, where he vowed to “de-escalate” tensions between the two neighbours over the terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pulwama.

The crown prince – widely known as MBS – returned to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan and after spending a few hours back home, took a 3,000 km flight back to the Indian subcontinent.

Over the next 26 hours that the crown prince spends in the national capital, officials have said, the focus would be to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. The two sides are also expected to seal five pacts related to investment, tourism, housing, and broadcasting.

Ties between the two countries have strengthened since PM Modi’s Riyadh in 2016 to sign an agreement on cooperation with intelligence-gathering on money laundering and terrorism financing. Since then, there has been active intelligence and security cooperation and many instances of terror suspects such as Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Abu Sufyan and Indian Mujahedeen member Zainul Abedin being sent back to India.

The crown prince’s schedule - his quick trip to Riyadh from Islamabad rather than flying from Islamabad to Delhi - was a reflection of the Saudi leadership’s appreciation of India’s sensitivities.

Officials have said Delhi’s relations with Riyadh shouldn’t be compared with those of Islamabad, where investment deals worth $ 20 billion were signed to help Pakistan’s cash-strapped economy.

“When they invest in India they’re going to invest in a very robust economy. They are not here to bail out India,” said an official, referring to Pakistan receiving Saudi aid to cope with an economic crisis.

First Published: Feb 19, 2019 21:34 IST