India and Saudi Arabia are looking at collaboration in defence manufacturing, a senior Indian government official has said.

Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman is on a three-day official visit to India after participating in the G20 summit in New Delhi over the weekend.

“We have ongoing defence cooperation, which is going on very well. We already had two rounds of the joint naval exercises. We are now exploring the possibility of taking these joint exercises to other domains other than the naval,” Ausaf Sayeed, a secretary in the Indian Foreign Ministry, told Asian News International news outlet.

He said another important aspect is the collaboration in defence manufacturing, adding, “this is something which both sides are keen about”.

The Saudi side has an inbuilt local manufacturing focus in its Vision 2030 and Indian companies have evinced interest in showing their capabilities, Sayeed noted.

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)