Last year, Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Saudi Arabia will invest more than $ 100 billion in India (Archive)
New Delhi:
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, said on Sunday that its investment plans in India are on the right track, noting that the Indian economy has the strength to recover from the adverse impact of the coronavirus crisis.
In February last year, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, announced that Saudi Arabia would invest more than $ 100 billion in India in petrochemicals, refining, infrastructure, mining and manufacturing, agriculture and various other sectors.
“Our plans to invest in India are on the right track and we are in talks to prioritize investment opportunities in various sectors in both countries,” Saudi Ambassador Dr. Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati told PTI in an interview.
Stating that Saudi Arabia values India as a strategic partner and close friend, Al Sati identified continued cooperation in the areas of training, knowledge sharing and counter-terrorism as key elements of the partnership in the field of defense and safety.
Al Sati praised India’s measures to revive its economy in light of the impact of the pandemic, saying that the economic recovery in both countries will help lift other economies in the region as well.
“The economic aid package provided by India for its leading sectors is commendable. As the fifth largest economy in the world and the largest economy in South Asia, the Indian economy has the momentum to recover from the impact of the ongoing pandemic,” he said . .
Without commenting on the visit of the army chief, General MM Naravane, to Saudi Arabia last week, the ambassador said that the creation of the Strategic Partnership Council by the two countries opened new avenues of cooperation in various sectors, including defense and security and the fight against terrorism.
“The Strategic (Association) Council established by the two countries in 2019 has opened new avenues of association in strategic areas such as defense, security, counter-terrorism, energy security and renewable energy,” he said.
On Sunday, General Naravane held extensive talks with the commander of Saudi Arabia’s royal ground forces, General Fahd Bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutir, as he began a rare two-day visit to the Gulf country to lay the groundwork for ties. deeper military.
In the first visit by an Indian army chief, General Naravane traveled to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week, where he held talks with senior military officials.
The two sides established the Strategic Partnership Council during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Riyadh in October last year. The council is mandated to monitor the progress of strategic relationships in a wide range of key areas.
“The current decade has witnessed a remarkable advance in relations between Saudi Arabia and India. What was once seen as ties between two friendly countries is now a strong strategic partnership between two formidable economies,” Al Sati said.
“From energy cooperation, security and defense, flourishing trade relations to health cooperation, the nature of this relationship has been greatly diversified allowing further growth. Leadership from both sides has announced this transformation of ties between Saudi Arabia. and India, “he said.
On the trade association, the envoy referred to the decision of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) to invest approximately USD 1.3 billion in Reliance Retail and USD 1.5 billion in Reliance’s Jio platforms.
“Saudi Aramco is committed to investing in India’s energy sector. Aramco’s decision to buy a stake in the Reliance Industries Oil to Chemical business and Aramco’s commitment to invest in the West Coast petrochemical refinery project it signifies the interest that Saudi Arabia puts in the development of India’s energy sector, “he said.
Apart from this, Al Sati said that Saudi Arabia continues to explore new investment opportunities in India.
The envoy also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s recent Labor Reform Initiative (LRI), and said they will further help Saudi Arabia and India consolidate their economic relationship.
“It will improve the contractual relationship between workers and employers, and support the Kingdom’s vision of establishing an attractive labor market, empowering and developing job skills and developing the work environment,” he said.
“The initiative is a welcome step to improve the efficiency of the work environment in Saudi Arabia and will complement similar initiatives launched in this regard,” he said.
Al Sati said the measures will also help reduce the disparity between Saudi workers and expatriates.
“The positive economic benefits expected from LRI include local market development and work flexibility, increased productivity within the private sector by attracting highly skilled talent, and will ultimately help to achieve Vision 2030 goals. of the Kingdom through the national transformation program, “he said.
When asked about the political developments in Yemen, the Saudi ambassador said that the formation of the new government in that country is an important step in the context of the implementation of the Riyadh agreement.
“We hope that this step will help to achieve peace and stability in Yemen and to achieve the aspirations of the Yemeni people for a political solution that will end the crisis in Yemen,” he said.
The Riyadh deal was pushed by Saudi Arabia in an effort to end hostilities between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and southern separatists.
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