Jaswant's visit to Saudi Arabia put off

Jaswant's visit to Saudi Arabia put off
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, OCT 14: External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh's three-day visit to Saudi Arabia from October 17 has been put off, official sources said on Saturday.

No reasons were immediately given for the postponement of the visit, the first by an Indian Foreign Minister in the last five decades to Saudi Arabia.

Singh met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the Breach Candy hospital and apprised him of the developments in West Asia.

India has called for cessation of provocative acts by all sides and stressed that peace and normalcy must immediately be restored.

Prior to the sudden escalation of tension and violence in West Asia, both the Palestinian National Authority and Israel had sought India's intervention to save the Middle East peace process.

Singh's visit was aimed at forging a new partnership with the oil-rich kingdom.