General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said at the inaugural session of the meeting held at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh. Ambassador Khalid Al-Jandan, under secretary for economic and cultural affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ahmad were present during the inaugural session of Saturday's meeting. Al-Attiyah said the meeting was held to explore new areas of cooperation in all sectors. “All countries in the GCC as well as India are willing to participate in projects that would be of mutual interest. India is a country with an abundance of skilled staff supported by a rich knowledge economy which could be harnessed by GCC countries for their progress and prosperity,” he said. The volume of trade exchange between India and GCC countries exceeded $64 billion in 2009. The GCC states import a variety of goods including agricultural commodities, while India imports oil and gas in return.
