Bhai Zakir
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India - Saudi Arabia : New era of strategic partnership
India and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial and friendly relations reflecting the centuries old economic and socio-cultural ties. The establishment of diplomatic relations in 1947 was followed by high-level visits from both sides. King Saud visited India in 1955 and the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Kingdom in 1956. The visit of the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi to Saudi Arabia in 1982 further boosted bilateral relations.
In the recent times, the historic visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in 2006 resulted in signing of the ‘Delhi Declaration’ imparting a fresh momentum to the bilateral relationship. The visit provided the framework for cooperation in all fields of mutual interest. The visit by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in 2010 heralded a new “era of Strategic Partnership” covering political, economic, security and defense areas. Since then the two countries have made significant progress in each of these areas.
The two countries have maintained regular exchange of visits at all levels in the recent years. The Saudi Deputy Minister of Labor for International Affairs Dr. Ahmad Bin Fahad Al Fuhaid visited India to participate in a meeting of Joint Working Group on Labor issues between India and Saudi Arabia in May 2013 and on the sidelines met with Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi. The Deputy Minister for Laws and Regulation Affairs and Foreign Trade Dr. Fahad Abuhimed led the Saudi delegation to India for the Second Review Meeting of the 9th Joint Committee held in New Delhi in November 2013. Further, the Saudi Labor Minister Adel Fakeih visited India early this month for the signing of the Agreement on Labor Cooperation for Domestic Service Workers Recruitment and on the sidelines met with Vice President and External Affairs Minister of India.
From the Indian side, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed accompanied by members of Indian Haj delegation visited Kingdom in March 2013 and met Saudi Haj Minister Dr. Bandar Bin Mohammed Hajjar in Jeddah and discussed issues pertaining to the welfare of Indian pilgrims and signed the Haj Agreement for 2013. The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi accompanied by E. Ahamed and the Adviser to Prime Minister of India T.K.A. Nair visited Saudi Arabia in April 2013 and held meetings with Saudi Labor Minister, Foreign Minister and Deputy Interior Minister.
In the month of May 2013, the Ld. Attorney General for India G. E. Vahanvati visited Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Naif, Saudi Justice Minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa and President of Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution Sheikh Mohammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Abdullah.
In May 2013, the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid visited Saudi Arabia from and held meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prince Salman; Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Muqrin; Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, Interior Minister Prince Mohammad Bin Naif; Labor Minister Adel Fakeih. During the meetings with the Saudi leadership, Khurshid discussed wide ranging issues. In July 2013, Rajiv Mehrishi, Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs visited Saudi Arabia and met with Dr. Mufraj Al Haqbani, Saudi Vice Labor Minister. In August 2013, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Ashok Kantha visited Saudi Arabia to review Haj arrangements and met with the Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah on August 29, 2013.
India-Saudi Arabia economic and commercial relations have been growing steadily in the recent years. Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trade partner of India and the bilateral trade was $43.78 billion in 2012-13 and in the current financial year, has already crossed $32 billion from April–November 2013. The import of crude oil by India forms a major component of bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia being India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for almost 19% of its requirements.
Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest market in the world for Indian exports and is destination of more than 4.18% of India’s global exports. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the source of 8.01% of India’s global imports. For Saudi Arabia as per data available, India is the fifth largest market for its exports, accounting for 8.3% of its global exports. In terms of imports by Saudi Arabia, India ranks seventh and is source of around 3.4% of Saudi Arabia’s total imports.
Indian companies have been expanding their footprint in the Kingdom and many of them have won major projects in the Kingdom.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged a part of the Riyadh Metro Project in August 2013.
Tata Steel won an order in August 2013 to supply high-quality rails for new high-speed rail line linking the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced the launch of its “all female” Business Process Outsourcing in Riyadh in collaboration with General Electric and Saudi ARAMCO. In November 2013, SABIC announced the launching of its R&D Center in Bengaluru with an investment of over $100 million. According to Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), 426 licenses were issued to Indian companies for joint ventures/100% owned entities till 2010, which are expected to bring total investment of $1.6 billion in Saudi Arabia.
The two sides have been witnessing an increased people-to-people interaction and cultural exchanges. The Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Embassy of India, Riyadh, organized ‘Road Shows’ in different parts of the Kingdom during the month of May 2013. More number of Saudi nationals are visiting India for tourism purposes especially to avail the benefits offered by the medical tourism, which combines the concept of physical wellbeing with opportunity to visit different parts of India. The vast pool of highly qualified Indian doctors combined with cost effective and prompt treatment has been attracting many people from all over the world including Saudi Arabia. Many Saudi students are looking at India as a destination to learn about high-end technologies including Information Technology, Biotechnology, etc.
The 2 million plus Indian community in Saudi Arabia is the ‘most preferred community’ due to their expertise, sense of discipline, law abiding and peace loving nature. The contributions made by Indian community towards the development of Saudi Arabia are well acknowledged. In April 2013, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced a grace period allowing overstaying expatriates to correct the status, get new jobs or leave the country without facing penal action till the end of the grace period i.e. November 3, 2013. More than 1.4 million (14 lakh) Indians have availed the concessions during the grace period.
The Haj pilgrimage is another important component of India-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations. The government of India has appreciated the efforts on part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to put in place excellent arrangement to ensure comfortable and hassle-free Haj and Umrah experience. During Haj 2013, more than 135,000 Indians visited the Kingdom to perform Haj and even more Indians performed Umrah. — SG
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette - New era of strategic partnership
Arab News
Unity in diversity motivates India to achieve objectives | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
Leaders keen to boost historic partnership | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
India and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial and friendly relations reflecting the centuries old economic and socio-cultural ties. The establishment of diplomatic relations in 1947 was followed by high-level visits from both sides. King Saud visited India in 1955 and the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Kingdom in 1956. The visit of the Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi to Saudi Arabia in 1982 further boosted bilateral relations.
In the recent times, the historic visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in 2006 resulted in signing of the ‘Delhi Declaration’ imparting a fresh momentum to the bilateral relationship. The visit provided the framework for cooperation in all fields of mutual interest. The visit by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in 2010 heralded a new “era of Strategic Partnership” covering political, economic, security and defense areas. Since then the two countries have made significant progress in each of these areas.
The two countries have maintained regular exchange of visits at all levels in the recent years. The Saudi Deputy Minister of Labor for International Affairs Dr. Ahmad Bin Fahad Al Fuhaid visited India to participate in a meeting of Joint Working Group on Labor issues between India and Saudi Arabia in May 2013 and on the sidelines met with Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi. The Deputy Minister for Laws and Regulation Affairs and Foreign Trade Dr. Fahad Abuhimed led the Saudi delegation to India for the Second Review Meeting of the 9th Joint Committee held in New Delhi in November 2013. Further, the Saudi Labor Minister Adel Fakeih visited India early this month for the signing of the Agreement on Labor Cooperation for Domestic Service Workers Recruitment and on the sidelines met with Vice President and External Affairs Minister of India.
From the Indian side, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed accompanied by members of Indian Haj delegation visited Kingdom in March 2013 and met Saudi Haj Minister Dr. Bandar Bin Mohammed Hajjar in Jeddah and discussed issues pertaining to the welfare of Indian pilgrims and signed the Haj Agreement for 2013. The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi accompanied by E. Ahamed and the Adviser to Prime Minister of India T.K.A. Nair visited Saudi Arabia in April 2013 and held meetings with Saudi Labor Minister, Foreign Minister and Deputy Interior Minister.
In the month of May 2013, the Ld. Attorney General for India G. E. Vahanvati visited Saudi Arabia and met with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Naif, Saudi Justice Minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa and President of Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution Sheikh Mohammad Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Abdullah.
In May 2013, the External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid visited Saudi Arabia from and held meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prince Salman; Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Muqrin; Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, Interior Minister Prince Mohammad Bin Naif; Labor Minister Adel Fakeih. During the meetings with the Saudi leadership, Khurshid discussed wide ranging issues. In July 2013, Rajiv Mehrishi, Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs visited Saudi Arabia and met with Dr. Mufraj Al Haqbani, Saudi Vice Labor Minister. In August 2013, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Ashok Kantha visited Saudi Arabia to review Haj arrangements and met with the Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah on August 29, 2013.
India-Saudi Arabia economic and commercial relations have been growing steadily in the recent years. Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trade partner of India and the bilateral trade was $43.78 billion in 2012-13 and in the current financial year, has already crossed $32 billion from April–November 2013. The import of crude oil by India forms a major component of bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia being India’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting for almost 19% of its requirements.
Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest market in the world for Indian exports and is destination of more than 4.18% of India’s global exports. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is the source of 8.01% of India’s global imports. For Saudi Arabia as per data available, India is the fifth largest market for its exports, accounting for 8.3% of its global exports. In terms of imports by Saudi Arabia, India ranks seventh and is source of around 3.4% of Saudi Arabia’s total imports.
Indian companies have been expanding their footprint in the Kingdom and many of them have won major projects in the Kingdom.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged a part of the Riyadh Metro Project in August 2013.
Tata Steel won an order in August 2013 to supply high-quality rails for new high-speed rail line linking the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced the launch of its “all female” Business Process Outsourcing in Riyadh in collaboration with General Electric and Saudi ARAMCO. In November 2013, SABIC announced the launching of its R&D Center in Bengaluru with an investment of over $100 million. According to Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), 426 licenses were issued to Indian companies for joint ventures/100% owned entities till 2010, which are expected to bring total investment of $1.6 billion in Saudi Arabia.
The two sides have been witnessing an increased people-to-people interaction and cultural exchanges. The Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Embassy of India, Riyadh, organized ‘Road Shows’ in different parts of the Kingdom during the month of May 2013. More number of Saudi nationals are visiting India for tourism purposes especially to avail the benefits offered by the medical tourism, which combines the concept of physical wellbeing with opportunity to visit different parts of India. The vast pool of highly qualified Indian doctors combined with cost effective and prompt treatment has been attracting many people from all over the world including Saudi Arabia. Many Saudi students are looking at India as a destination to learn about high-end technologies including Information Technology, Biotechnology, etc.
The 2 million plus Indian community in Saudi Arabia is the ‘most preferred community’ due to their expertise, sense of discipline, law abiding and peace loving nature. The contributions made by Indian community towards the development of Saudi Arabia are well acknowledged. In April 2013, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced a grace period allowing overstaying expatriates to correct the status, get new jobs or leave the country without facing penal action till the end of the grace period i.e. November 3, 2013. More than 1.4 million (14 lakh) Indians have availed the concessions during the grace period.
The Haj pilgrimage is another important component of India-Saudi Arabia bilateral relations. The government of India has appreciated the efforts on part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to put in place excellent arrangement to ensure comfortable and hassle-free Haj and Umrah experience. During Haj 2013, more than 135,000 Indians visited the Kingdom to perform Haj and even more Indians performed Umrah. — SG
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette - New era of strategic partnership
Arab News
Unity in diversity motivates India to achieve objectives | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
Leaders keen to boost historic partnership | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.