Large Indian team at S. Arabia trade fair

Tuesday, 15 October 2002, 19:30 IST
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DUBAI: Around 50 Indian firms are participating in the Saudi Arabia International Trade and Fashion Fair in Jeddah, making exporters from India the largest group at the event. This also marks the biggest participation by India in a fair in Saudi Arabia, Indian Consul General Syed Akbaruddin said over phone from Jeddah. The event ends Friday. Indian exporters have lined up a myriad range of products, including textiles, jewellery, leather goods, cosmetic items, plastic products, kitchen utensils, furniture, food products, engineering goods, ceramic ware and handicrafts. Fair organizers said international participation was strong, and exhibitors from around 20 countries were present at national pavilions and individual displays. The Malaysian pavilion at the show is reportedly the largest. To coincide with the fair, the Mumbai-based Indo-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industries sponsored a delegation of manufacturers/exporters of a wide range of consumer goods to Jeddah. The team held a Buyer Seller Meet here on Saturday. India accounts for 4.3 percent of Saudi Arabia's exports and 2.6 percent of its imports. Bilateral trade was at $3.07 billion in 1999-2000. This month Indian Minister of State for Small Scale Industries Vasundhara Raje led a delegation to the country and met top Saudi officials. A reciprocal visit from Saudi Arabia is on the cards. Saudi Arabia is home to 21 Saudi-Indian joint ventures while 33 such projects are based in India.
Source: IANS