RIYADH, 29 November 2006 — A visiting SME (small and medium enterprise) delegation from India has identified 75 joint ventures to be executed in the Kingdom. “We are seeking suitable partners for 75 viable projects that could be commissioned here,” Srinivasa Rao, leader of the Indian trade delegation, told Saudi businessmen at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday.
Identified by a survey made by a team of experts who visited the Kingdom last year, these projects that have local resources and markets, have been recommended for immediate promotion in the Kingdom
Potential sectors include oil and gas, refineries, petrochemicals and downstream projects, power, water supply and waste treatment, metallurgy, mining, power, pharmaceuticals, IT and food processing. “We are not only here to promote joint ventures between Indian and Saudi entrepreneurs but also to promote Indian technologies for SME development in the Kingdom and to attract Saudi investments to India,” he added. “We can also help Saudi youths get training in entrepreneurship at our major training centers in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kohatti.”
Currently, India has 108 licensed joint venture projects in the Kingdom at a value of $466.3 million and Saudi Arabia has 49 projects in India worth $228.8 million. He noted that SMEs are a key growth engine of the Indian economy which constitute 95 percent of all industrial establishments and provide decentralized employment.
The trade talks between the two groups of businessmen were co-chaired by Rao and Abdulmalik Al-Sinani, assistant secretary general of RCCI for the Saudi side. The Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farook and Azar A.H. Khan first secretary economic and commercial were also present. The visiting delegation was composed of representatives from 14 companies and five government officials.
Farook said the bilateral trade ties between the two countries had accelerated following the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Abdullah’s visit to India. “Indian investments in the Kingdom have doubled the volume of Saudi investments in India.” Therefore, he called upon the Saudi investors to reciprocate by investing more in India. India’s exports to the Kingdom stands at $1.8 billion while its imports from Saudi Arabia amounts to $1.6 billion. The Kingdom supplied 26 percent of India’s crude oil requirements.
Al-Sinani said that the offers made by the Indian team are attractive and RCCI would welcome more such delegations to publicize Indian products and services in this part of the world. RCCI would soon send a team of Saudi businessmen to India to explore new areas of cooperation, he added.
