Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman on Monday agreed on setting up a joint task force to help identify and channelise investments worth $100 billion in the West Coast refinery project in Maharashtra.
“Both sides extended their full support to the early implementation of the West Coast refinery projects… The two sides agreed to set up a joint task force to help in identifying and channelising the $100 billion investments promised by the Saudi side – half of which was for the refinery, and again to have monitoring committee to ensure that the progress in this refinery projects is done as per the plans laid out by both sides,” said Secretary (CPV & OIA) Ausaf Sayeed in a media briefing.
The Crown Prince also congratulated India for a successful G20 Summit, while PM Modi also acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s active participation in the group meetings. The two leaders specially expressed their happiness at the launch of the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor on Saturday. PM Modi also congratulated Mohammed bin Salman on becoming a member of the BRICS group.
“The two sides identified areas such as energy cooperation, defence, security, education, technology, transportation, healthcare, tourism and culture. Both sides considered space and semiconductors as other areas of cooperation. They agreed to diversify the current status of hydrocarbon relations into a comprehensive energy partnership,” said Sayeed.
The two sides also agreed to expedite the India GCC-FTA negotiations that “would act as a catalyst” for economic cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia. “They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the FinTech field and also explore trading in the local currencies. The two leaders expressed their satisfaction at the volume of trade level both countries have reached,” said the Secretary.
A total of eight agreements have been signed in areas of energy, digitalisation and electronic manufacturing, anti-corruption and national archives. Other agreements including one on grid connectivity are currently in progress. PM Modi also mentioned critical areas of cooperation such as critical minerals, food security, startup bridge, education and filmmaking during his bilateral meeting with the Crown Prince.
The India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council, established in 2019, serves as a platform between the two countries to increase ties. India has now become Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner while the latter is New Delhi’s fourth-largest trading partner. Riyadh is India’s one of the most essential strategic partners in the Middle East.
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