PM arrives in Saudi Arabia on historic

27.02.10 : Manmohan Singh arrived here on Saturday on a historic three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit the Gulf country in 28 years.

A slew of agreements covering security, science and technology, culture and media are expected to be signed during the visit. A joint investment fund is also likely to be set up.

Manmohan Singh is the first Indian prime minister to visit Saudi Arabia after then prime minister Indira Gandhi came here in 1982.

His trip comes four years after the historic visit of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to India in 2006.

The prime minister is accompanied by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, senior government officials and a 25-member delegation of CEOs from corporate India. Saudi Arabia is home to 1.8 million expatriate Indians.