Extradition treaty among series of Indo-Saudi pacts signed

RIYADH - A pathbreaking extradition treaty was among five agreements signed between India and Saudi Arabia in the presence of visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz here late Sunday night.

“Both sides signed five agreements in the presence of the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) and King Abdullah,” Latha Reddy, secretary (east) in the external affairs ministry, told journalists from India.

Sunday was the second day of the three-day trip by Manmohan Singh, the first by an Indian prime minister after 1982.

“The first was the extradition treaty. This treaty will further enhance the existing security cooperation between the two countries and will help authorities in apprehending wanted persons in each other’s country,” she added.

The extradition treaty will follow the standard format such treaties have follow across the world.

“The extradition treaties are governed by international law provisions. They would simple lay down the procedures to be followed for both countries,” Reddy said.

“How you present an extradition request, how are the procedures to be followed and what are the grounds for making an extradition request.”

The second agreement on transfer of sentenced prisoners to their own country.

“This will be of assistance to those serving prison sentences. We hope that this treaty will facilitate the transfer of Indian prisoners back to India where they could serve the remaining (part of the) sentence (given by a Saudi court),” Reddy said.

The third agreement was on cultural cooperation between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and Information and India’s Ministry of Culture.

The fourth memorandum of understanding was on cooperation on peaceful use of outer space. It was signed between India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).

These apart, four other agreements were signed between the two sides Sunday.

One was signed between Tata Motors and Saudi Arabia’s Hotil for supply of schoolbuses worth $80 million, another between Gulf Bureau of Research and DFL and a fourth between India’s Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and Saudi Arabia’s King Saud University.