Saudi Arabia, India sign 47 MoUs during Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s state visit

Image credit: Narendra Modi/Twitter

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a state visit to New Delhi. The meet saw the two countries sign several landmark agreements including the multi-party India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

The Saudi-Indian Strategic Partnership Council meeting saw the Crown Prince underscore the importance of the agreement and his willingness to ensure its implementation.

His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and I had very productive talks. We reviewed our trade ties and are confident that the commercial linkages between our nations will grow even further in the times to come. The scope for cooperation in grid… pic.twitter.com/UalSTDmrTY

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 11, 2023

Saudi Arabia is working to implement an economic corridor with India and the project requires diligent work to achieve it, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said during the meet in New Delhi.

“We are very glad to be in India. The relation between India and the Arabian peninsula goes back thousand years of history. The relationship between us is in our DNA in Saudi Arabia. India is our friend, they helped us build Saudi Arabia over the past 70 years. There is a lot of Saudi work in India, helping development,” the crown prince said during the ceremonial reception.

“This trip will highlight the Saudi work done here in India and ensure that our relationship is maintained and improved for the sake of both countries and with the leadership of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I am sure this will happen,” he added.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and India are mutually beneficial, and we are working on future opportunities for us both, he said, and was hoping to achieve common goals through the Saudi-Indian Partnership Council.

Saudi Arabia, India sign bilateral agreements, MoUs

Saudi Arabia and India have signed a bilateral agreement to bolster the investment climate in both countries, said Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister of investor outreach. Badr Al-Badr, speaking at the India-Saudi Investment Forum in New Delhi, said: “The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia and Invest India have signed a bilateral agreement to strengthen mutual investment endeavors and have given the comfort zone to investors and traders to do more business.”

The deputy minister further revealed that both nations signed 47 memorandums of understanding, including agreements between private and public sector undertakings.

He added, “Our Saudi companies are excellent potential partners for you because of their capabilities, capacities, scale, knowledge, financial strength and experience. You will discover that they are great business partners and solution providers.”

Trade ties between Saudi Arabia and India are growing at a robust rate, with Indian exports to Saudi Arabia hitting $10.7bn in 2022, up 85 per cent from $5.6bn in 2018.

Meanwhile, Saudi exports to India between 2018 and 2022 have grown by 114 per cent.

“This export growth was achieved during a period of pandemic, energy shocks, geopolitical upheavals, food security challenges, high inflation, environmental challenges and supply chain issues. Despite the challenges, the economy of Saudi Arabia has grown and diversified over the six and half years,” added Al-Badr.

India’s Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said the two countries have an enormous opportunity to explore investment opportunities further.

“Several Saudi Arabian companies have already invested in the Indian solar energy sector, and we look forward to collaborating in new areas like hydrogen energy,” said Singh.