India is set to launch a Saudi-India Business Network (SIBN) in Riyadh and Dammam to promote trade and commerce, investment, business-to-business interactions and exchanges with Saudi Arabia.
The SIBN would comprise both Indian and Saudi businessmen, entrepreneurs, industrialists and members of business chambers.
Indian and Saudi companies recruiting Indians are also invited to join, a statement by the Indian Embassy said. Their first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 2 at the embassy auditorium.
Indo-Saudi trade relations have witnessed a steady and remarkable growth in the last few years. Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trade partner and the bilateral trade stood at $43.19 billion in 2012-13.
Saudi Arabia is also India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for 17 percent of the country’s requirements. Saudi Arabia is home to more than 1.86 percent of India’s global exports and is also the source of 6.35 percent of India’s global imports. For Saudi Arabia, India is the fifth largest market for its exports accounting for 7.55 percent of global exports.
Several Indian firms have collaboration with Saudi companies and are working in the Kingdom in the areas of designing, consultancy, financial services and software development, the embassy said, adding that Saudi Arabia is also emerging as a big investor in India.
Indo-Saudi network to boost trade
