India and Saudi Arabia on Friday signed a series of “actionable agreements” aimed at enhancing trade volumes and facilitating a smooth flow of investments between the two counties, an official statement said on Friday.
The agreements emphasise cooperation in energy transition, digital transformation and exchange of expertise to accelerate economic growth.
The agreements were signed in the presence of commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal who was on a visit to the West Asian kingdom.
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During his stay in Saudi Arabia Goyal held ministerial engagements with the Saudi Minister of Energy, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Minister of Investment. “These engagements focused on collaborative initiatives in trade, energy, and technology,” the statement said.
The minister also co-chaired the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Economy and Investment Committee under the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) along with Minister of Energy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud.
The Committee reviewed the progress achieved by the four Joint Working Groups – Agriculture and Food Security, Energy, Technology and Information Technology, and Industry and Infrastructure.
Both countries are also exploring collaboration in emerging fields like fintech, new technologies, energy efficiency, clean hydrogen, textiles and mining. The committee meeting reviewed these developments.
In recent years, many bilateral agreements have been formalised between India and Saudi Arabia, covering sectors such as food exports, pharmaceuticals, electrical interconnectivity, energy, small and medium enterprises, digitization and electronic manufacturing.
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Saudi Arabia is India’s fifth largest trading partner with a total trade of $ 42.9 billion in 2023-24. Exports to Suudi Arabia stood at $ 11.5 billion and imports at $ 31.4 billion.
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