CII Uttar Pradesh organised an exclusive industry interaction with a delegation from Saudi Arabia at Lucknow. The interaction focused on strengthening the business ties between Saudi Arabia and India. The delegation was on a business tour to India from 4 – 8 March 2013, and arrived at Lucknow after visiting Hyderabad and New Delhi.
Addressing the business fraternity from Uttar Pradesh Dr Abdulrahman Al Rabiah, Chairman, Saudi-Indian Business Council and President – Al Rabiah & Partners shared that, “the relations between the two countries date back to centuries, half of Arabic food and accent is Indian, even the first light lit in Mecca was from India”. Speaking on the investment scenario in Saudi Arabia he said “Contrary to the perception of the world, non – oil private sector contribution to the GDP of Saudi Arabia stands as high as 7.2%. Also, the government debt is only 3.6 % percent of the GDP which is the lowest in the world.”
Dr Rabiah, also gave a presentation on ‘Saudi Arabia – An Investors Focus’ wherein he shared that “Saudi Arabia presents a US $ 624 billion investment opportunity upto 2020, the advantages of investing there include – pursuing International Standards, availability of Raw material, accessibility to International markets, competitive pricing, availability of finance and shipment of cargo through various ports.”
Mr Jayant Krishna, Co-Chairman CII Northern Region Special Task Force on Skills & Education and Principal Consultant & Regional Head – Tata Consultancy Services welcoming the delegation said “the economic transformation of the Saudi Arabia is admirable. The country has embraced the free economy concept and wonderfully blended modernity with its strong traditional values. In recent decades the Kingdom has increasingly diversified its economy, and today produces and exports a variety of industrial goods all over the globe, the advancements in agriculture and water management is also praise worthy”
Mr Alok Saxena, Chairman - CII U.P State Council and VP & Plant Head, Tata Motors Ltd. outlining the opportunity in UP for Saudi investors said “Uttar Pradesh presents tremendous scope for partnership, recently announced Infrastructure and Industrial Investment Policy 2012 by the government undeniably reflects the progressive approach of the state. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will play an important role in the state`s progress and we invite you to invest in the state and built on the long standing people-to-people and commercial contacts.”
He also added that “it is our endeavour to bring such foreign delegations to the region so that the industry & other stakeholders are exposed to the opportunities overseas and enable them expand their businesses and forge business linkages in the other countries as well.”