RIYADH, 12 March 2005 — Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will arrive in the Kingdom on March 28 on a three-day visit at the invitation of Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi
The minister, who will visit Saudi Aramco in the Eastern Province, will explore investment potentials between the two countries.
He will also discuss energy security issues during the talks.
India buys from Saudi Arabia 23.5 million tons of oil out of its total crude oil imports of over 90 million tons annually. New Delhi wants to ensure sustained, long-term supplies. India has invited Saudi Aramco to invest in refineries in the underconstruction Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh and in the expansion of Mangalore refinery.
“We will be taking up possible Saudi investment in India. Some preliminary contacts have been made and we will take them further,” Aiyar was reported to have said at a conference in New Delhi on Thursday. “We will also discuss possible Indian investment in Saudi Arabia, maybe in the natural gas sector, since we have the great pride of being the only non-Western company to have been declared eligible to participate,” he said. “On my agenda are Saudi crude supplies to India, possible Saudi investment in Indian oil sector and India’s investment in Saudi Arabia mainly in natural gas production,” he told reporters.
Indian firms are also interested in opening up of natural gas exploration and production in Saudi Arabia and Aiyar would be discussing the topic when he meets Naimi.
The two sides will also take forward proposals made during the first energy roundtable hosted by New Delhi in January.
Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farook told Arab News that the proposed visit would further strengthen bilateral relations, which already extend across IT, telecommunications, consultancy, hotel industry and several other sectors.
Aiyar’s trip will include a desert safari and overnight stay under the open sky in Rubal Khali, the world’s largest expanse of sand dunes, at the minister’s own request.
He is scheduled to visit Tehran in June to seal a $4.16 billion Iran-India gas pipeline deal. The pipeline is to pass through Pakistan.