RIYADH: India has launched a high-level business network in Riyadh and Dammam to gain a stronger foothold in the Saudi economy and boost commercial ties in the region.

The Saudi-India Business Network (SIBN) launch was attended by 200 top Saudi and Indian businesspersons at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

In the keynote address, Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao highlighted the growing relations between India and Saudi Arabia and urged further cooperation.

“I look forward to your suggestions on ways and means to strengthen trade and investment relations. SIBN is an attempt to assist Indian and Saudi businessmen to come together to promote our economic and commerce relations.”

“We need to have regular business-to-business engagement and constant dialogue between the business communities of our two countries. SIBN is intended to provide a platform for such interactions. I hope that SIBN contributes in a positive and meaningful way to the development of economic and commercial relations between our two friendly countries,” he said.

On a bilateral level, he said India and Saudi Arabia have been able to put in place a framework for expanding trade and investment under the signed and ratified Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Treaty (BIPPA) and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).

Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth-largest trading partner.

During the 2012/2013 fiscal year, two-way trade exceeded $43 billion, an 18 percent increase over the previous year, he said.

In reference to the looming amnesty deadline, Rao said the embassy has been working to ensure workers use the concessions announced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

He said Saudi Arabia is part of India’s extended neighborhood and have shared interests in the stability and security of the region, particularly energy security.

“I am happy with the current state of our political relations and highly optimistic about their future prospects. The Delhi Declaration issued during the visit of King Abdullah to India in 2006 provided a roadmap for deepening our political and economic engagement.”

“The Riyadh Declaration issued during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2010 elevated our relationship to a strategic partnership focusing on political, security and economic relations,” he said.

He said the two countries have identified opportunities in information technology, space science, frontier technologies, biotechnology, nanotechnology, research and education.

Sibi George, deputy chief of mission at the embassy, said that India was the world’s third-largest economy in terms of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It also has one of the highest rates of consumer spending, estimated to touch $3.6 trillion by 2020.