India and Saudi Arabia agree to enhance bilateral trade

India and Saudi Arabia praised the bilateral burgeoning trade ties and noted that it has increased to more than $52 billion in 2022-23, marking a growth of more than 23 percent. Both sides also noted that India is the second largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia, while Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trade partner of India and thus agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the area of trade remedies. A joint statement issued during the state visit of Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to India on September 11 said that while praising the growth achieved in trade between the two friendly countries, both sides stressed the importance of continuing joint work to enhance and diversify bilateral trade.

Both sides also supported the early India-GCC free trade agreement negotiation commencement, the statement added. It said that India and Saudi Arabia agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in the area of payment systems, including the acceptance of the RuPAY card in Saudi Arabia for the benefit of the Indian community in general and, more particularly, the Hajj/Umrah pilgrims. They also agreed to further discuss fintech cooperation. It said that the two sides highlighted the importance of energy cooperation as an important pillar of the strategic partnership between the two countries and stressed the importance of supporting the stability of the world's oil markets by encouraging dialogue and cooperation between producing and consuming countries, and ensuring the security of energy supply sources in the world markets.

It said that the Saudi side affirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to be a reliable partner and exporter of crude oil supplies to India. The two sides look forward to boosting joint cooperation in the fields of electricity and grid interconnection between the two countries, in addition to cooperating in the field of hydrogen and its derivatives. “They agreed to develop joint projects to transform oil into petrochemicals in the two countries and provide the necessary support, requirements and enablers to accelerate the project of West Coast Refinery. The two sides agreed to explore investment opportunities in the field of fertilizers and intermediate, transformative and specialized petrochemicals in both countries,” the statement said.

It said that the two sides agreed to explore cooperation in the fields of promoting the utilization of sustainable advanced hydrocarbon materials, energy efficiency and rationalization of its consumption in the sectors of buildings, industry and transportation, and raising awareness of its importance. The Saudi side expressed gratitude for India’s support for the invitation extended to Saudi Arabia to join BRICS. It said that several MoUs were signed and exchanged, which included a pact in the field of energy between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia. An agreement between the Ministry of Communication and IT of Saudi Arabia and MEITY of India in the field of Digitisation and Electronic manufacturing was also signed. An MOU between the CVC of India and the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority was inked.