Saudi-India Business Network (SIBN) organized a B2B interaction between the visiting Indian businessmen for Saudi agriculture expo 2014 and the potential investors here to highlight the tremendous investment opportunities available in agro and food processing industries in both countries and discuss bilateral cooperation at this sector specific program hosted at the Indian embassy on Monday.

The B2B interaction was organized on the sidelines of the ongoing Saudi Agriculture 2014, the 33rd international agriculture, water and agro-industry trade expo, which kicked off on Sunday at Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center (RICEC) and will continue till Sept. 10 with a focus on agro and food processing industries.

Speaking on the occasion, Hemant Kotalwar, deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy here said, “The B2B is part of a series of sector-wise programs that SIBN has been hosting since its inception in September last year. The aim of this interactive session is to provide Saudi and Indian businessmen the opportunity to explore ways and means to increase the bilateral trade and investment cooperation in the agriculture and processed food sector.”

Kamel Al-Munajjed, chairman of the Saudi-Indian Business Council (SIBC) asserted that the Saudi-India bilateral trade has been witnessing steady growth in the last few years.

“The trade balance has reached $48.75 billion during 2013-14 from $21 billion in 2009-10, showing a remarkable growth over this period and is further expected to cross the mark of 50 billion by next year,” he said.

He further underlined that the historic visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in 2006 imparted a fresh momentum to the bilateral relationship, providing the framework for cooperation in the fields of mutual interest and enhancing economic cooperation.

Al-Munajjed also applauded Saud Alsati, Saudi ambassador in New Delhi and Hamid Ali Rao, Indian ambassador in Riyadh for further enhancing economic cooperation and raising the level of bilateral engagement to enhanced cooperation in different realms.

He further announced that the Kingdom will soon host two business events in New Delhi with the support from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to further enhance cooperation between investors from the two cordial business partners.

India shares very cordial trade relations with Saudi Arabia and is an important market for Indian agro and food processing Industries ranking fourth for Indian agro-food products with total exports of $2.05 billion during the fiscal year, 2013-14.