NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, The visiting Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Salman,  said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is like an “elder brother” to him and that he “admires” him a lot. According to source report, the Saudi Crown Prince said after receiving a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan “We (me and PM Modi) are brothers. PM Modi is my elder brother. I am his younger brother, I admire him,”.After the ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Saudi leader was received by PM Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who is on an official visit to India, has hailed the bilateral ties between the two countries and lauded the role of Indians in building the Saudi Kingdom. Speaking after the ceremonial reception at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Saudi Crown Prince said, "The relationship between India and Arabian Peninsula, which Saudi Arabia represent, about 80%, goes back to thousands of year in history. Even before the history was written, the relationship between India and the Arabian Peninsula has been in our DNA."

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It is worth mentioning here that Standing alongside President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Saudi leader added, "Today, we want to be sure this relation is maintained and improved for the sake of both countries. With the leadership of President and PM, I am are sure we can create good things for India and Saudi Arabia."

Highlighting the role of the Indian diaspora in building the country, the Saudi Crown Prince said, "Since we remember ourselves, Indian people are friends and part of building Saudi Arabia in the past 70 years. A lot of Saudis work and develop a lot of things in India for hundreds of years."

Saudi Crown Prince was earlier accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will now be meeting PM Modi at Hyderabad House for bilateral talks. This will be the second meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the Saudi Crown Prince in the last three months. The two leaders last met on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Argentina on 30th November.

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Both sides are expected to sign five MoUs/ Agreements in areas of investment, tourism, housing and information and broadcasting. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also famously known by his initials MBS, arrived in India on Tuesday evening and was received by PM Narendra Modi who broke the protocol to receive him.