Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – known as MBS for short – arrived in India on Tuesday after visiting Pakistan. The crown prince was welcomed at the airport by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who embraced him in a characteristic bear hug. MBS is expected to make an effort to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan. Following a militant attack in India-occupied Kashmir’s Pulwama area last week, tensions between India and Pakistan are once again running high. Ties between India and Saudi Arabia, where millions of Indians are employed as migrant workers, have strengthened since Modi visited Riyadh in 2016 for the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation with intelligence-gathering on money laundering and terrorism financing. Published in Daily Times, February 20th 2019.