RIYADH: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for a comprehensive energy partnership between India and Saudi Arabia at a meeting with Saudi businessmen at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Sunday.
"We should also establish new partnerships in the area of new and renewable energy through the sharing of clean technologies and joint collaborations," he said during his speech, which included a broad summary of opportunities to strengthen ties between the two countries in an increasingly integrated world economy.
Singh, who is on a three-day state visit, met with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Sunday night at Al-Yamamah Palace in the presence of Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, Interior minister Prince Naif and senior government officials.
Earlier in the day, he met with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi and Commerce and Industry Minister Zainal Alireza.
The prime minister is slated to address members of the Shoura Council on Monday at the Indian Embassy. Singh is also scheduled to attend a function at King Saud University where he will be conferred an honorary doctorate. The high-level Indian delegation will depart for New Delhi later on Monday.
Nine agreements were signed by officials of the two countries on Sunday. They include accords on extradition treaty, transfer of sentenced prisoners, scientific and technological cooperation and memorandums of understanding on cooperation in peaceful use of outer space, information and information technology and services between the Saudi Press Agency and the Press Trust of India, cultural exchange, advanced computing services. There were also two private sector agreements between Saudi and Indian companies.
Appreciating Saudi Arabia's role as a reliable partner in meeting India's energy needs, the premier told the Saudi Business Forum that conditions are ripe for moving beyond a traditional buyer-seller relationship to a comprehensive energy partnership, with Saudi interests in India and vice versa.
Vijaya Latha Reddy, secretary to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, said that Saudi Aramco is setting up a procurement office in India worth an estimated $400 million.
In his speech to top Saudi business executives and government officials, Singh pointed out that Indian companies are well equipped to participate in upstream and downstream petroleum projects in the Kingdom, adding that the robust growth of the two economies offer immense opportunities for business communities from both sides.
"Indian investments in the Kingdom have risen considerably and today stand at more than $2 billion covering over 500 joint ventures," he pointed out. Many major Indian companies have established presences in the Kingdom.
"Our public sector company, RITES, recently won a contract to participate in the North-South Railway project," he said. "There is, however, potential for doing much more."
Since 1990, Singh said Saudi Arabia has undergone substantial economic diversification and it is investing heavily in diversifying from its heavy economic dependence on petroleum.
"The ambitious economic cities that are proposed to be set up have the potential to further transform the Saudi economy," he said. "All these developments have and will widen employment opportunities for the growing young population in Saudi Arabia, and enhance Saudi Arabia's economic weight globally."
Speaking about his country, he said India, too, has registered significant growth. "We are in the midst of a major socioeconomic transformation," he said. "Our economy has grown at an average annual rate of over nine percent in the last few years. Despite the global economic slowdown, we hope to achieve a growth rate of over seven percent in the current financial year. We expect to get back to the growth level of about nine percent per annum within two years.”
