Jaishankar meets Saudi FM at BRICS 2026, bilateral ties top agenda
Synopsis
On the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, EAM Jaishankar held talks with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud — part of a sweeping diplomatic push that also included defence talks in Riyadh and a multi-portfolio ministerial visit to Saudi Arabia. The breadth of engagement points to a deliberate deepening of India's most consequential Gulf partnership.
Key Takeaways
EAM S Jaishankar met Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on 13 September 2026 on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi .
India's Ambassador Vipul separately met Saudi Assistant Minister of Defence Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari in Riyadh to discuss defence cooperation.
MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh visited Saudi Arabia from 5–8 September 2026 , meeting officials covering environment, climate, foreign affairs, and human resources.
Singh met Indian workers at the Al Fanar Company labour camp, reaffirming the government's commitment to the Indian diaspora in the Gulf.
The cluster of engagements signals a deliberate broadening of the India–Saudi Arabia strategic partnership across defence, climate and labour sectors.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday, 13 September 2026, met Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, holding discussions centred on advancing bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on regional and global developments. The meeting underscores the growing momentum in India–Saudi Arabia ties across diplomacy, defence, and climate cooperation.
What Was Discussed
Jaishankar confirmed the meeting in a post on X, stating he was 'pleased to meet the FM of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on the sidelines of BRICS India 2026,' adding that the two sides 'exchanged perspectives on regional and global developments, as well as on advancing our bilateral cooperation.' The BRICS Summit provided a high-profile multilateral backdrop for the bilateral engagement, reflecting India's strategy of using major summits for parallel diplomatic outreach.
Defence Cooperation Gets a Push
The ministerial meeting in New Delhi follows a separate, earlier engagement in Riyadh, where India's Ambassador Vipul met Saudi Arabia's Assistant Minister of Defence, Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari, on Thursday. According to a post by the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia on X, the two sides 'discussed India–Saudi Arabia defence cooperation and exchanged views on regional developments, reaffirming their commitment to further strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries.' The back-to-back diplomatic contacts — at the ambassador level in Riyadh and the ministerial level in New Delhi — signal a deliberate intensification of the security dimension of the bilateral relationship.
MoS Singh's Saudi Visit: Labour, Climate and Diplomacy
Adding further weight to the diplomatic push, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh undertook an official visit to Saudi Arabia from 5 to 8 September 2026. During the visit, Singh held meetings with several senior Saudi officials, covering a broad range of subjects. He met Saudi Arabia's Vice Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Mansour Hilal Al Mushaiti to discuss bilateral cooperation on environment and climate action. He also engaged with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Climate Envoy Adel al-Jubeir, reviewing what both sides described as the 'excellent' state of bilateral ties and discussing climate collaboration. Additionally, Singh met Human Resources and Social Development Minister Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alrajhi to explore deeper cooperation in the labour and manpower sector — a strategically significant area given the large Indian workforce in the Kingdom.
Indian Workers in Focus
Singh also visited Indian workers at the labour camp of the Al Fanar Company during his Saudi stay, hailing the Indian diaspora's role in cementing ties between the two nations. He reiterated the Indian government's commitment to the welfare of Indian workers abroad — a recurrent priority for New Delhi given that the Indian community in Saudi Arabia is one of the largest expatriate groups in the Gulf. This comes amid India's broader effort to institutionalise worker welfare frameworks under bilateral labour agreements with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.
The Bigger Picture
The cluster of engagements — spanning defence, climate, labour, and high-level diplomatic exchanges — reflects the multi-dimensional character of the India–Saudi Arabia strategic partnership, formally elevated in recent years. Notably, the Jaishankar–Prince Faisal meeting at the BRICS Summit signals that both sides are keen to align their bilateral agenda with broader multilateral frameworks. With India holding the BRICS presidency in 2026, the summit is also an opportunity for New Delhi to deepen ties with key Gulf partners. Further structured dialogues are expected to follow from this round of high-level contacts.
Point of View
Multi-track diplomacy with Riyadh at a moment when Gulf geopolitics are in flux and New Delhi holds the BRICS presidency. What stands out is the inclusion of defence in this round: ambassador-level defence talks in Riyadh, paired with a foreign-minister-level meeting in New Delhi, suggest the security pillar of the partnership is being quietly but deliberately reinforced. The labour dimension also deserves scrutiny — with millions of Indian workers in the Kingdom, any shift in Saudi labour policy directly affects Indian households, and institutionalising that link at the ministerial level is overdue. Mainstream coverage tends to frame India–Saudi meetings as energy or investment stories; the defence and diaspora threads here are the more consequential ones.
NationPress
13 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Jaishankar and Saudi FM Prince Faisal discuss at the BRICS Summit?
The two ministers met on 13 September 2026 in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit, exchanging perspectives on regional and global developments and discussing ways to advance bilateral cooperation. Jaishankar confirmed the meeting in a post on X.
What is the significance of the India–Saudi Arabia defence talks in Riyadh?
India's Ambassador Vipul met Saudi Assistant Minister of Defence Khaled bin Hussain Al Biyari in Riyadh to discuss bilateral defence cooperation and regional developments, reaffirming the two countries' commitment to their strategic partnership. The talks indicate that defence is becoming a more prominent pillar of India–Saudi ties.
What did MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh achieve during his Saudi Arabia visit?
During his official visit from 5 to 8 September 2026, Singh held meetings on environment and climate action, labour and manpower cooperation, and foreign affairs. He also visited Indian workers at the Al Fanar Company labour camp and reaffirmed India's commitment to the welfare of its diaspora in the Gulf.
Why does the India–Saudi Arabia relationship matter to Indian workers?
Saudi Arabia hosts one of the largest Indian expatriate communities in the world, and bilateral agreements on labour and manpower directly affect the welfare of millions of Indian workers in the Kingdom. MoS Singh's visit specifically included a meeting with Saudi Arabia's Human Resources Minister to strengthen cooperation in this sector.
How does the BRICS 2026 Summit fit into India's Gulf diplomacy?
With India holding the BRICS presidency in 2026, the New Delhi summit has provided a platform for high-level bilateral meetings alongside the multilateral agenda. The Jaishankar–Prince Faisal meeting illustrates India's strategy of leveraging major summits to deepen ties with key partners, including Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia.
