India, Saudi Arabia can look at doubling bilateral trade to $100 bn: Piyush Goyal

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud is currently on a state visit to India after the G20 Summit concluded on Sunday.

India and Saudi Arabia can look at doubling bilateral trade to $100 billion in the coming years from about $52 billion at present, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday.

He said the two countries can also look at a more balanced trade.

The minister suggested Saudi Arabia to open an office of their sovereign wealth fund in GIFT city in Gujarat and industry chamber Ficci set up an office in Riyadh in partnership with Invest India, and the commerce ministry to facilitate investments.

"Maybe this could be a way to kick-start a better flow of trade and investments and also to see how we can double our trade, which is currently about $52 billion.

"Can we be more ambitious and take it to $100 billion, can we look at a more balanced trade, can we look at India becoming the provider of food security to Saudi Arabia, while Saudi Arabia helps us provide more energy security like oil and fertiliser. So, it will really be a win-win and complimentary relation," Goyal said here at an event.

India's exports to Saudi Arabia have increased to $10.72 billion in 2022-23 from $8.8 billion in 2021-22. Imports, on the other hand, have increased to $42 billion in 2022-23 from $34.1 billion in 2021-22, mainly on the back of oil shipments.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud is currently on a state visit to India after the G20 Summit concluded on Sunday. He is accompanied by a delegation of ministers and businesses.

About 50 MoUs worth $3.5 billion between India and Saudi Arabia have been inked.

Goyal also sought investments from Saudi firms.

"The large demographic dividend that India offers, the aspirational billion plus people is a huge opportunity for investors not to miss," he said.

On the proposed free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Goyal said the two sides are already in dialogue to decide in terms of greater engagement, possibly through a free trade agreement going forward.

Chief negotiators of both sides had met on August 29 and "we are working together to see how we can formalise greater trading relations," Goyal added.

The minister also talked about Saudi's mega engineering project - NEOM - and asked the Saudi minister how Indian firms can participate in that.

"I think that is an area where India could contribute significantly," Goyal said, adding that India can help in areas like designing, construction, manning and developing businesses around.

On this, Investment Minister of Saudi Arabia Khalid A Al Falih said, "It is already happening, and we want to scale it up". Indian companies are active in infrastructure building.

"The master contractor...we have L&T," Khalid said.

Further, Goyal said that the pharma sector has immense potential.

A greater understanding between the regulatory authorities of Saudi Arabia and India may help the pharma companies, he said.