JEDDAH, 29 December 2006 — Trade relations between Saudi Arabia and India go back to several centuries, but they have taken a dramatic turn for the better, following the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India earlier this year, Ashok Kumar, consul (commercial) at the Consulate General of India said on Wednesday night.
“India is now the Kingdom’s fourth largest trading partner,” Kumar said at a farewell reception hosted in his honor by Cyril Tigga, consul (community welfare) and head of chancery at the consulate.
“In fact, bilateral commercial relations are now stronger than ever,” he said. The two-way trade exceeded $8.76 billion including import of $6.13 billion oil by India in 2004-05. It marked further increases during 2005-2006 and 2006-07, Kumar said.
The Kingdom is the 15th largest market in the world for Indian exports and remains the destination for more than 1.76 percent of India’s global exports. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the source of 5.5 percent of India’s global imports. For Saudi Arabia, India is the fourth largest market for its exports, accounting for 5.95 percent of its global exports. In terms of imports by Saudi Arabia, India ranks ninth and is the source of around 2.96 percent of Saudi Arabia’s total imports.
Kumar, who returns to Delhi at the end of his nearly three-year term here, said that his interaction with the community continued from the time he arrived here and was initially in charge of community welfare. “The consulate has been doing all it can to solve the problems of the community,” said Kumar who was also given farewell receptions by different sections of the community including those organized by Al-Ryan Polyclinic and Saudi Red Bricks. V.P. Mohammed Ali, who chaired the Al-Ryan meeting, said Kumar was always cooperative in dealing with issues like visas for business visits to India.