Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], September 18 (ANI): Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce and the Minister of Information in charge Majid Alkassabi on Sunday and discussed ways to attract investment in order to boost the economic ties between New Delhi and Riyadh.
Taking to Twitter, Union Minister said, “Strengthening India-Saudi ties Had a fruitful meeting with H.E. @malkassabi, Minister of Commerce, KSA. Discussed ways to attract greater investment and further diversify bilateral trade to boost economic ties between India and Saudi Arabia.”
On the same day, Goyal met the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Khalid Alsalem and identified a range of mutually beneficial opportunities to further strengthen economic cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia.
The Union Minister, who is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, will co-chair the inaugural ministerial meeting of the economic and investments committee with Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz Bin Salman.
This Ministerial Committee is one of the two Ministerial verticals established under the framework of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, which is headed at the highest level by the Prime Minister of India and the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The two Ministers are expected to discuss the progress made under the various Joint Working Groups of the Economic and Investment committee, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Both sides are expected to formulate a plan of action for further strengthening bilateral cooperation in an array of priority areas and projects, including the West Coast Refinery Project, Trans-ocean grid connectivity, Green Hydrogen, Food security, energy security and pharmaceuticals; and accelerate progress on the announcement made by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, during his visit to India in February 2019, of investments worth USD 100 billion in India.
India and Saudi Arabia’s relations are defined by a forward-looking strategic partnership that encompasses all major areas of cooperation. Economic ties are a pivotal pillar of this partnership. India is the second largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner.
The visit to Saudi Arabia, one of its strategic partners of India, will add further impetus to this dynamic and ever-growing strategic partnership, and pave the way for new areas of cooperation that will further strengthen commercial and trade ties between the two countries. (ANI)
