02/11/2009
Saudi Firms Keen to Do Business with Indians
Saudi companies are keen to establish business contacts with their Indian counterparts. This was observed by Mr. Adnan A. Al Nueim, Secretary General of Asharqia Chamber, in a meeting with an Indian trade delegation at the Chamber on Nov 1, 2009.
There is bright potential for cooperation between companies of the two countries through transfer of technology and expertise, he said highlighting the quality of Indian products and technology. He urged Indian firms to consider investing in Saudi Arabia particularly in its Eastern Province which is called "Industrial Capital of the Gulf" for its enormous industrial activities.
Mr. Al Nueim said that bilateral trade relations are now set to grow further after the recent successful 8th meeting of the Indo-Saudi Joint Commission in Riyadh in which a number of important issues were discussed. These included current business opportunities in the Kingdom after its accession to the World Trade Organization, possibility of establishing Indo-Saudi collaboration in the petrochemical sector and opening up Saudi financial sector to Indian banks. A major decision was also taken in the meeting for issuing 6 months multiple visas for the businessmen of the both countries.While talking about promotional activities being undertaken by the Indian companies, Mr. Al Nueim pointed out that Indian businessmen are nowadays increasingly visiting the Kingdom and a number of catalogue exhibitions of Indian products have been organized in different cities of Saudi Arabia. "These trade promotional activities have paid dividends with the significant rise in trade exchanges between the two countries", he said adding that the two-way average annual trade volume has reached over SR 58.5 billion. Saudi average yearly imports from India accounted for over SR 8.5 billion while Saudi exports to India were valued at nearly SR 50 billion.
Mr . Al Nueim noted that Indian companies are currently taking advantage of enormous investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia. More than 200 Indian firms are now active in the Saudi market with a combined investment exceeding SR 4 billion. Saudi Arabia has also good investments in India. Currently there are around 50 Saudi-Indian joint ventures with a total investment of around SR 858 million, he said.
Mr. Sharad S. Nandurdikar was leading the Indian delegation. It was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry. He urged Saudi businessmen from the Eastern Province to participate in the upcoming Saudi trade mission to India. A Saudi trade mission is expected to visit India within the next three months.
