Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane on Tuesday left on a six-day tour of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, in a first-ever visit by a head of the Indian Army to the two strategically important Gulf countries.
During the visit, he will be meeting his counterparts and senior military leadership of these countries.
“The visit is historic in the sense that it will be the first time an Indian Army Chief is visiting the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
According to the official schedule, the Army Chief will visit Saudi Arabia from December 13 to 14.
“He will take forward the excellent defence cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India through multiple meetings with senior functionaries of the security establishment and exchange views on various defence related issues,” the Army said.
It said Gen Maravane will visit the headquarters of Royal Saudi land force, the Joint force command headquarters and King Abdul Aziz Military Academy.
The Army chief is also scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia”s National Defence University and address the students and faculty at the institution.
In the last few years, India”s ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE have witnessed a major upswing.
It is learnt that Saudi Arabia is keen to collaborate with India on joint production of defence equipment.
