An Indian diplomat said that New Delhi was looking to strengthen Riyadh’s partnership in 17 future investment opportunities, including new technologies, energy, food and sustainable development.
Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, the Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi investments in India exceeded $3.3 billion, following new investments made by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund in various economic sectors.
He added that during the first half of 2021, India emerged as the second largest trading partner for Saudi Arabia with bilateral trade amounting to $14.87 billion.
According to Sayeed, Indian companies can take advantage of the many opportunities emerging in the Kingdom within Saudi Vision 2030, including mega projects, such as NEOM, Qiddiya and the Red Sea Project.
“The relationship of the two countries during 75 years has gradually evolved as strong strategic partners... Now, we are keen to establish a strong partnership in a wide range of areas, such as defense and security cooperation, new and innovative technologies, energy, food security, healthcare, education and sustainable development,” the ambassador said.
He continued: “There is an increasing rapprochement between the two countries on issues of global importance, such as climate change. Therefore, bilateral cooperation in multilateral forums, such as the United Nations, the G20 and the Gulf Cooperation Council is greatly enhanced.”
He stressed that India has also warmly welcomed the Kingdom’s recent accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a dialogue partner.
In this regard, the ambassador noted that the recent visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister to India has strengthened the consultations that focus on bilateral, regional and international developments.
