Saudi Arabia Tuesday evinced keen interest in India considering opening joint venture manufacturing plants across the Kingdom. "India has a large industrial base and expertise to start factories in this part of the world, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Secretary General Adnan Mandoura said at the opening of a two-day catalogue show of Indian companies at the chamber Tuesday morning. "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," he said. Mandoura said the volume of bilateral trade, which stands around SR80 billion, matters a lot in further strengthening relations between Saudi Arabia and India. "Through such interactions, we can further strengthen our bilateral trade," he said, adding that 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," Mandoura said. "The buoyancy and stability in the two countries should also be a contributing factor in increasing the bilateral trade," he further said. An added advantage here is that the Kingdom has good access to its neighboring countries where demand for goods and services is ever increasing. The Kingdom can be a hub for meeting their demands as well, Mandoura added. More than 150 Indian companies are showcasing their products and services through the catalogue show, organized jointly by the Consulate General of India and the JCCI, covering most of the major sectors of industry including automobile spare parts, building materials, chemicals, electrical and electronics, engineering, machines and machinery, metals, plastics, steel, tools and equipment, textiles, fashion, and foodstuffs and spices. India's Consul (commercial) Shakeel Ahmad said the two-way trade was very much in favor of Saudi Arabia, noting that India's imports from the Kingdom stand at $20 billion - mostly of petroleum and petrochemical products, while Indian exports to the Kingdom account for a mere SR5 billion. "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. He referred to the Indian Consulate General's recent visit to the King Abdullah Economic City to explore investment prospects and has conveyed the vast scope existing in the city and elsewhere in the Western Region and the Kingdom to Indian industrialists and investors. Referring to Mandoura's suggestion for starting factories here, Ahmad said this issue has already been addressed to Indian organizations 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. He also mentioned that regular exchange of visits between the two countries would go a long way in further promoting the bilateral trade. Following the recent successful visit of a huge Saudi trade delegation to India, some trade missions are lined up for visits to the Kingdom, including the organizations representing spices, leather exports, and the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. The catalogue show will be open to the public today (Wednesday) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
