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By Hassan Cheruppa
JEDDAH will host an exclusive exhibition of Indian goods and services next October. Indian Consul General Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh on Monday inaugurated the media center and website for the Indian Expo 2017 on the consulate premises in the presence of several Saudi and Indian businessmen and consulate officials.
The event will be organized by MBN Luxury Lines in association with the Saudi Indian Business Network (SIBN) at Jeddah Hilton Hotel from Oct. 22 to 24. The first and largest specialized exhibition of Indian goods in the Kingdom will offer a unique opportunity to share business ideas and expertise with Saudi business leaders.
The expo is set to draw world-class suppliers from various states of India to allow the Saudi business community to have close interaction and contact with the latest technologies and innovations with industry peers and thought-leaders in India to help boost entrepreneurship in the Kingdom, according to the organizers.
Speaking on the occasion, the consul general said India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is keen to tap the full potential of the Saudi market in a way serving the business interests of both sides. He underscored the longstanding bonds of friendship that scaled to the level of strategic partnership between India and Saudi Arabia.
Highlighting the shared will of both nations to strengthen the existing multi-faceted cooperation, Sheikh noted that the India-Saudi partnership has improved tremendously during recent years. “The economic complementarities are helping this relationship to grow stronger,” he added.
Sheikh said bilateral investments between the two countries witnessed a steady growth. “Since mid-2000, a number of Indian firms have taken advantage of the new Saudi laws and established joint ventures or wholly-owned subsidiaries in the Kingdom,” he said.
“The economic focus of the world has gradually shifted toward India,” Sheikh claimed. “By 2030, India is expected to be the third largest economy in the world, with the largest consuming population that global companies would wish to attract. Moreover, India has been the best economic performer in the last few years,” he said while noting that India’s GDP witnesses a robust growth with rates reaching 7 percent and above in recent years.
Sheikh also drew attention to the fact that the signing of the Joint Declaration on Strengthening and Enhancing Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the two countries during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia last year has contributed to further boosting the bilateral ties in different fields.
Dr. Mohammed Nurul Hassan, consul (commerce), assured the organizers of Indian-Expo 2017 full cooperation and support from the consulate. Highlighting the existing synergies between the two economies, he noted that there have been abundant opportunities emerged on both sides over recent years thanks to the ongoing economic reforms in both countries.
Addressing the gathering, Walaa Khalil, CEO of MBN Luxury Lines, gave a brief outline about various sectors being represented in the expo. He noted that the expo will highlight the importance of Indian and Saudi economies in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which envisages fast growth of the Kingdom’s economy and trade market at the global level.
“The expo would present India’s featured projects and products in the Kingdom, the largest market in the Middle East. Being fast growing economies, Saudi Arabia and India witness an upswing in terms of trade relations as well as in collaborations in manufacturing,” he said.
According to Khalil, the exhibition will provide special pavilions for networking receptions, one-to-one business matching for buyers, industry seminars and much more to derive maximum benefit in a more defined and meaningful manner.
Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, general secretary of SIBN, said the expo is an important initiative toward bringing the businessmen of the two countries on a common platform, connecting people and businesses. “SIBN will assist in building sustainable and conducive platforms between India and Saudi Arabia, while bridging the information gap to match the pace with modern day business. The expo will help boost manufacturing and trading opportunities for Saudi entrepreneurs,” he said.
Asim Zeeshan Khan, executive secretary of SIBN, stressed the need for two-sided flow of investment in infrastructure and development. He assured full cooperation and support from the SIBN team to make the event a great success.
SIBN is a professional organization that groups together entrepreneurs, senior business executives and professionals from Saudi Arabia and India.
