Saudi crown prince looks for 'good things' from India trip

New Delhi: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman said on Wednesday terrorism was a common concern with India and that his country was ready to share intelligence to tackle it.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the crown prince said Saudi Arabia was ready for political cooperation with India.

The crown prince signed joint accords with Modi on industry and culture, but announced no major deals.

"On the issue of extremism and terrorism, which is a common concern, we want to tell India that we will cooperate in every way, including intelligence sharing," the crown prince said.

Investment opportunities

During the press briefing, Modi said he had agreed with Saudi Arabia to strengthen cooperation on counter-terrorism, naval and cyber security.

The Saudi Crown Prince also said to expect investment opportunities in India to exceed $100 billion.

Warm welcome

Earlier, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman received a warm welcome in India Wednesday.

Prince Mohammad predicted "good things" will come out of talks with Indian leaders as he started a landmark visit to the world's largest democracy on Wednesday.

"Today, we want to be sure this relationship is maintained and improved for the sake of both countries," the crown prince said in comments to reporters after full ceremonial welcome in Delhi.

"I am sure we can create good things for Saudi Arabia and India," he added after inspecting a guard of honour at the presidential palace.

The crown prince said the two countries were in each other's "DNA", highlighting the importance of Indian labour and experts in Saudi Arabia over the past 70 years as well as a longstanding Saudi presence in India.

Prince Mohammad arrived late Tuesday for a 36-hour visit that was to be dominated by economic ties. But it has risked being overshadowed by rising tensions between India and Pakistan - where the Saudi royal was on the first leg of his Asian tour - over a suicide attack in Kashmir.

The attack last week left at least 40 Indian paramilitaries dead and India has blamed Pakistan, which has denied any involvement.

Saudi officials have offered to help "de-escalate tensions" between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al Jubeir said in Islamabad on Monday that the delegation would "see if there is a path forward to resolving those differences peacefully".

Saudi Arabia currently supplies about 20 percent of India's crude oil.

Iran at one stage last year overtook Saudi Arabia among India's suppliers but US sanctions since have severely hit Tehran's oil business.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also wooed Saudi investment in recent years for flagship infrastructure programmes.

The two leaders are to hold talks later Wednesday.