The main objective of India Caltex is to further boost economic and commercial links between India and Saudi Arabia, said Ashok Warrier, first secretary and head of the commercial section at the Indian Embassy.
Warrier said, “Similar catalog shows will be organized in other Saudi cities including Dammam in near future. The catalog expo is the most modern and easy way to disseminate information about world-class products and services of Indian companies.” Hence, the event in Hofuf is designed to showcase the business potential of different Indian companies, which operate in one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
“India Caltex will be an easy and affordable way to get in touch with a huge number of qualified Saudi businessmen,” said Warrier.
The catalog show will be a good platform for buyers, representatives, licensing and joint venture partners, who are interested to link up with Indian business entities.
Warrier said a large number of product catalogs and CDs of various sectors of Indian trade and industry would be displayed at the exhibition. The show would be open for all at the InterContinental Hotel in Hofuf from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, said Warrier, adding that India Caltex seeks to build image of the Indian companies in the Kingdom and back up their local representatives, if they were already represented in region.
He said that the catalogs will be professionally displayed to a highly targeted audience and distributed among visitors and the business community in the region free of cost. Company details including a full entry in the catalog show to allow every visitor to get the exhibitor’s message. These would be distributed freely to all visitors, said the diplomat.
“With the overwhelming response and success of the last catalog exhibitions organized by the Indian embassy, it has now become a regular event,” he added. “Those who are interested in developing or expanding their trade and investment relations, may like to visit this excellent cost-free show,” said the Indian diplomat.
A large amount of catalogs and company profiles in print format and on CDs will be available at the show. Indian companies representing, among others, agriculture and food products, automotive industry, construction, building materials, chemicals, cosmetics, electrical products, stationery items, books, periodicals and electronics will be present through their catalogs at the show, he added.
Warrier said Indo-Saudi economic relations have shown remarkable growth with bilateral trade registering a three-fold increase in the last few years. Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trade partner of India and the two-way trade exceeds $25 billion annually, said the diplomat. India’s import of crude oil forms a major component of bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia, he observed.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is one of the largest markets in the world for Indian exports and is destination for about three percent of India’s global exports. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the source of 5.51 percent of India’s global imports. India is a major investor in Saudi Arabia with cumulative investments currently exceeding $1.6 billion. Saudi Arabia is the 45th biggest investor in India with investments from April 2000 to October 2011 amounting to $33.63 million.
There is currently a good synergy between Indian and Saudi companies and there is considerable interest among businessmen and companies to conduct business with each other.
“The framework and the atmosphere are already there and we have every reason to hope and expect the economic relationship between our two countries to rise to new and impressive heights,” said Warrier.
Several Indian companies have established collaborations with Saudi companies and are working in the Kingdom in designing, consultancy, financial services and software development. On the other side, a number of Saudi companies are active in India in diverse fields, such as paper manufacture, chemicals, computer software, granite processing, industrial products and machinery, cement and metallurgical industries.
