India's premier usually sends a junior official to welcome foreign dignitaries. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke with protocol to personally greet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on his arrival in New Delhi.
The friendly greeting for the crown prince was marked as a "new chapter in bilateral relations" by the Indian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
Tensions between Pakistan and India have flared after last week's bombing in the disputed Kashmir region, which killed 40 Indian paramilitary police. Bin Salman visited Pakistan and India amid the crisis for seeking the solution of the conflict.
"Our objective is to try to de-escalate tensions between the two countries, neighbouring countries, and to see if there is a path forward to resolving those differences peacefully," Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, said in Islamabad on Monday.
Saudi Arabia is already India's main supplier of crude oil, and ties are being extended beyond energy to build a strategic partnership, India's Foreign Ministry said last week. Bilateral trade is already worth $28 billion.
India is hoping for an investment in its National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to build ports and highways. "Trade and investment, defence and security, including counterterrorism, and renewable energy," are all on the agenda for the talks on Wednesday, the ministry said.
Apart from trade, bin Salman's office indicated the crown prince would be attempting a diplomatic role to ease tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.