Saudi ties, Chidambaram said: "We regard Saudi Arabia as an important trading partner." Saudi Arabia is the first Arab country being visited by Chidambaram during his present term as finance minister. He will be in Riyadh tomorrow and Wednesday to attend the sixth meeting of the Indo-Saudi Joint Commission. In an exclusive interview Chidambaram said : "The last Indo-Saudi Joint Commission meeting was held in New Delhi in 1997 when I was the finance minister. There has been an eight-year gap, which is unfortunate." With Indo-Saudi ties on the upswing, Chidambaram expressed optimism that the ground lost by the gap would be made up. During this week's meeting, wide-ranging talks would be held covering "every aspect of economic cooperation," Chidambaram said. Asked if any agreement is likely to be inked during his visit, Chidambaram said that this will depend on whether the talks reach a conclusive stage now or later. "We are keen to sign agreements on air transport between Saudi Arabia and India," Chidambaram said. "There is considerable scope to work together in the area of agriculture. It is possible that we may cover areas such as animal health, agricultural education, research and water and soil management." Specifically referring to the upswing in Indo-Saudi ties, Chidambaram said: "Economic cooperation is a core part of our foreign policy. We regard Saudi Arabia as an important trading partner, an important source of oil and an important destination of our exports." Reflecting on the new momentum in Indo-Saudi ties, Chidambaram noted: "Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar visited Saudi Arabia last month. External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh will be going there (Riyadh) next month."
