RIYADH, 13 February 2004 — Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Hashim Yamani will lead a 50-member delegation to India for the GCC-India Industrial Conference due to be held in Mumbai, India’s financial hub, from Feb. 17 to 18.
It is the first-ever economic dialogue between India and the GCC, whose previous meetings of this kind were with the US, EU and Japan. “India is the first developing country with which the GCC is holding industrial conference,” India’s Ambassador Kamaluddin Ahmed told a press conference.
The ambassador said that besides Dr. Yamani, the other members of the Saudi delegation would include Abdullah Al-Hamoudi, deputy minister of commerce and industry for international trade, Saleh Al-Hussaini, deputy minister for industrial affairs, and a large contingent of Saudi businessmen. Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah, secretary general of the GCC, will also join the delegation for his maiden trip to India.
Several Memoranda of Understanding in the fields of trade, investment, economic cooperation, information technology and manpower training are expected to be signed at the meeting between the chambers of commerce and industry in the GCC states and their Indian counterparts.
The ambassador said the conference would have plenary sessions on trade, investments, industrial cooperation, information technology and small and medium enterprise (SME) development. The possibility of sharing Indian experience in these areas will be explored. A permanent mechanism is likely to be created to facilitate an ongoing exchange of views.
As far as Saudi Arabia is concerned, the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry would explore cooperation in the manufacturing sector as well as SMEs. These fields are relevant, since the thrust of the national effort in the Kingdom is toward important substitution and strengthening SMEs which make up more than two-thirds of the council’s membership.
Referring to the Indo-GCC trade, Mokul said the two-way trade stands at $12.5 billion (SR46.87 billion) of which the Indo-Saudi trade component is $5.1 billion (SR19.12 billion). Saudi exports totaled $3.65 billion (SR13.68 billion) while India’s exports to the Kingdom were around $1 billion. India’s major export item was IT which, with an export value of $170 million (SR569.5 million), is poised for further growth.
