India Seeks Joint Ventures With Saudi Businessmen

Dubai, Nov 22 (UNI) India is seeking Saudi investment for its infrastructure development and would like its business community to establish mutually beneficial joint venture projects, chairman of Mumbai-based Indo-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industries Sushil Jiwarajka said in Riyadh.

"We are working with the government to strengthen the infrastructure for which an investment of over 450 billion dollar is required over the next five years. Our requirements of foreign investment are particularly large in power, telecom, roads, ports and housing sectors,'' he said at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The number of Saudi-India ventures in India and fully Indian owned entities or joint ventures in the Kingdom is growing at a rapid pace with Indian companies investing in oil, gas and petrochemicals, IT, telecommunications and science and technology, according to a report in the Arab News daily.

''The scope for mutually beneficial cooperation is vast. We will be happy to share our capabilities and expertise with the Kingdom in health, IT, small-scale industries and training," he said, adding that the economies of both the countries are undergoing rapid liberalisation in the era of globalisation.

India is the Kingdom's fourth largest trading partner and the total bilateral trade reaching 16 billion dollars in 2007 whereas it is the 13th largest market for Indian exports and a source for 5.5 per cent of India's total imports.

India is the fourth largest market for Saudi goods and ranks 10th in the Saudi imports market list. By exporting half a million barrels of oil per day and a total of about 24 million tons annually, the Kingdom meets nearly a quarter of India's total oil requirements.

He said the Kingdom also offered vast scope of investment and Indian businessmen would seriously consider playing a role in projects coming up in the new cities. "We hope our bilateral trade can go up to 30 billion dollar in the next five years," Mr Jiwarajka added.

Indian Consul General Dr Ausaf Sayeed reviewed bilateral relations and said the trade ties in particular were expanding since the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah two years ago.''We under the Saudi-India Business Network banner, are working on the visit of a Saudi business delegation to India in the first half of 2008,'' Dr Sayeed said.

UNI