RIYADH: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and India signed a memorandum of understanding on the mechanism of consultations between India and the six-nation regional bloc. The MoU was signed during the official visit of India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to the kingdom, where he held a 'productive' meeting with the GCC Secretary-General Dr Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf. Meanwhile, Dr Hajraf and Dr Jaishankar exchanged views on the current regional and global situation and the relevance of the India-GCC cooperation. Both sides reviewed the Kuwait-India bilateral relations, discussing ways to strengthen them further.

During his visit, Dr Jaishankar also co-chaired the inaugural ministerial meeting of the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation (PSSC), established under the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud. On a three-day official visit to KSA, the visit is the first official trip to the kingdom made by Dr Jaishankar as India's external affairs minister.