Thirty-five delegates including 15 Saudi nationals will participate from the Kingdom in the three-day Global Exhibition on Services to be held in New Delhi from April 23 to 25.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open the show, organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry.

“The main objective of the exhibition is to create a global platform for increased trade in services,” said Indian Consul General B. S. Mubarak.

GES will enhance strategic cooperation and develop synergies to strengthen multilateral relationships between all stakeholders, he explained.

The exhibition, which is first of its kind, will showcase the inherent strength of services sector in India with focus on IT and telecom, tourism, media and entertainment, health care, logistics, professional services, education, small and medium enterprises, research & development and space.

The delegates from the Kingdom are taking part with the support of Saudi Indian Business Network, Mubarak said.

“SIBN will have a stall at the exhibition. We have also made arrangements for the Saudi delegates to meet with Indian ministers and businessmen to discuss investment issues,” he added.

The consul general said many companies in the Kingdom have started outsourcing their services because of Nitaqat Saudization program, thus strengthening the Indian service sector.

“The services sector in India contributes about 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product,” he pointed out.

Irshad Ahmad, consul for press, information and culture, said a number of Saudi businesswomen would take part in exhibition as part of SIBN delegation, adding that the Saudi delegates represent various business sectors.

“This reflects the Saudis’ growing interest to do business with India,” he told Arab News.

Haridas, a representative of GES, F. R. H. Fahmi, consul for trade and social development, and Agarwal, second secretary at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, attended the press conference at the Consulate General.