RIYADH, 12 April 2005 — India, which is upbeat at the prospect of being able to tap opportunities in Saudi Arabia, will maintain the pace of economic growth during the current fiscal year with the focus on development. “Indian economy has registered a growth of 6.8 percent during 2004-2005 compared to four percent in 2002-2003”, said Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who is visiting Saudi Arabia to co-chair the Saudi-Indian Joint Economic Commission meeting.
Chidambaram, who was addressing the Indian community here last night during a reception, said that the welfare of Indian expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia will top the agenda of his talks with senior Saudi officials besides the whole range of bilateral economic issues. He said that Indian Minister of External Affairs Natwar Singh will visit Saudi Arabia next month, which will ensure the continuation of dialogue with Riyadh on the whole bilateral issues including welfare of Indian workers.
Earlier, Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farook briefed the visiting minister about the problems faced by the Indian mission in serving the community.
A 20-member delegation of top executives led by Saroj Kumar Poddar, senior vice-president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), is accompanying Chidambaram.
Asked about the new schemes for investment for Indian expatriates, he said that “India will be able to attract more Saudi investments and also investments from overseas Indians in several sectors”. He said that “Saudi Arabia has huge oil reserves and gold fields, whereas India has been blessed with abundant high-quality human resources”. Bilateral trade in 2002-2003 was $5.10 billion. India is the fourth largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia and receives 26 percent of its crude oil imports from the Kingdom.
India has also established 65 joint ventures in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Saudi-Indian Business Network have organized an interactive session with Chidambaram at the JCCI from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. tomorrow.
The minister will speak on the latest developments in the Indian economy and the investment opportunities available in his country.
