Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during signing of minutes of the first meeting of India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council at the Hyderabad House, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
In order to further deepen economic and business engagements Saudi Arabia on Monday announced that its sovereign wealth fund would set up an office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) while India proposed to set up an investment and trade promotion facility in Riyadh.
“We will send a strong delegation from Saudi to India in the next few weeks to set up an office of sovereign wealth fund in GIFT City,” said Saudi Arabia's Minister of Investment Khalid Al Falih.
GIFT City is a tax-neutral financial services centre located in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Speaking at ‘India-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum’, Al Falih said the Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund’s office would be focused on investment facilitation. If not GIFT City, Saudi Arabia may explore some locations in Mumbai or the national capital Delhi for the investment facilitation centre.
Meanwhile, India has decided to open an investment and trade promotion office in Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh. This initiative is a collaboration among key organisations including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Invest India, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.
“The new bridge that has been created, the India-Middle East-West Asia-Europe bridge, which will connect large parts of the world, will help make logistics more affordable, make it easier to transport goods and services, connect nations for renewable energy grids and for digital connectivity,” Goyal told reporters.
“The potential is immense. It's our moment under the Sun. It’s our time. Saudi Arabia and India are committed to grab every opportunity that comes our way,” he added.
Goyal also emphasised on the need for boosting investments and more balanced trade. Saudi Arabia is one of India’s top trading partners with bilateral trade of over $52 billion recorded in 2022-23. However, due to oil imports, the trade balance is heavily in favour of Saudi Arabia. During the financial year ended March 2023, India’s imports from Saudi Arabia stood at $42.03 billion, while exports were valued at $10.72 billion.
“India can look at providing food security to Saudi Arabia while Saudi Arabia helps us by providing more security in energy, oil, fertilisers,” Goyal said, highlighting the need for more balanced trade between the two countries.
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