Saudi Arabian industry keen on JVs in manufacturing with India

DUBAI: Saudi Arabian industry wants Indian businesses to set up manufacturing plants across the Kingdom and push bilateral trade beyond oil and its products, a trade official has said.

"India has a large industrial base and expertise to start factories in this part of the world. This is a golden opportunity for India to forge joint venture projects, as the Kingdom with its stability and buoyant economy offers the best of facilities," Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Secretary General Adnan Mandoura said.

He was speaking at the opening of a two-day catalogue show of Indian companies at the chamber.

Mandoura said the volume of bilateral trade, which stands around USD 21.3 billion (80 billion Saudi riyals), matters a lot in further strengthening relations between Saudi Arabia and India.

"Through such interactions, we can further strengthen our bilateral trade," he was quoted by Saudi Gazette as saying.

According to Mandoura, India has the advantage as it has the presence of the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom.

"Most of the Indians here are familiar with the Saudi market and so the transfer of know-how and technology becomes far easy," he said.

The buoyancy and stability in the two countries should also be a contributing factor in increasing the bilateral trade, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Mandoura further said that the added advantage is that Saudi Arabia has good access to its neighbouring countries where demand for goods and services are ever increasing. Saudi Arabia can be a hub for meeting their demands as well.

More than 150 Indian companies are showcasing products and services through the catalogue show, organised jointly by the Consulate General of India and the JCCI.

India's Consul (commercial) Shakeel Ahmad said the two-way trade was very much in favour of Saudi Arabia, noting that India's imports from the Kingdom stand at USD 20 billion - mostly of petroleum and petrochemical products, while Indian exports to the Kingdom account for a mere 5 billion riyal.

"Our effort is to bridge the yawning gap between our exports to and imports from Saudi Arabia. We both need to work towards bridging the gap and balancing the trade," Ahmad said.

Referring to Mandoura's suggestion for starting factories here, Ahmad said this issue has already been addressed to organisations like the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the Indo-Arab Chamber of Commerce.

"We will continue to focus on this in the future," he said.