Saudi Arabia and India ties have undergone a major transformation lately. The camaraderie between the 2 nations is rooted in our cultural and civilisational ties. The Kingdom and India share mutual respect and appreciation which opens doorways for our collaboration and partnership. These ties have been cemented by diplomatic visits made by leaders from each nations. The go to of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister then, to New Delhi in February 2019 and the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to to Riyadh in October of the identical 12 months are two watershed moments in our journey of strategic ties. These two high-level visits anchored the historic formation of Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) on the management degree.

During these visits, each nations concluded numerous MoUs for a number of sectors together with vitality, civil aviation, safety, defence manufacturing, regulation of medical merchandise, strategic petroleum reserves, small and medium scale industries, and the coaching of diplomats in our respective academies. The SPC additionally noticed the formation of working teams in a number of sectors vital to each nations. Since 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and India have taken a complete evaluate of the agreements and have explored alternatives to work collectively.

While our ties stem from vitality safety, through the years they’ve percolated into many different sectors, together with pharma, IT and telecommunications. Apart from fulfilling India’s vitality wants the place the Kingdom alone accounts for 18 per cent of India’s crude oil import, Saudi Arabia can also be the fourth largest buying and selling associate of India whereas India is the second largest buying and selling associate of Saudi Arabia with our bilateral commerce near $43 billion. A lot of main Indian firms have additionally arrange a base in Saudi Arabia, signifying the conducive enterprise atmosphere within the Kingdom. There are near 750 Indian firms registered as joint ventures or 100 per cent owned firms primarily based in Saudi Arabia, additional indicating the sturdy relationship and belief between the nations. Since the formation of our SPC, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made investments of about $2.8 billion in digital and retail sectors of India. Similarly, Indian investments in Saudi Arabia have additionally reached $2 billion that are distributed amongst totally different sectors. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its 13 imaginative and prescient realisation programmes are intently aligned with India’s flagship initiatives of Make in India, Start-up India, Smart Cities, Clean India, and Digital India. Both economies have seen sturdy development within the final decade.

Under the aegis of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia goals to remodel its financial system and society. Under the management of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Saudi Arabia is present process path-breaking financial and social reforms. The Kingdom has been working in direction of fostering its rising funding sector that may stimulate the financial system. Saudi Arabia, within the second quarter of 2022, signed 49 funding offers in a number of sectors price greater than $925 million. FDI inflows on the similar time stood at $2.11 billion.

The Kingdom, as a part of Vision 2030, has additionally been investing in its tradition with occasions such because the Red Sea Film Festival, which is devoted to celebrating excellence in cinema and fostering the resurgent artistic vitality of Saudi and Arab filmmakers. Similarly, the launch of the Events Investment Fund (EIF) by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman goals to develop a sustainable infrastructure for the tradition, tourism, leisure, and sports activities sectors throughout the Kingdom. The fund seeks to develop world-class sustainable infrastructure together with indoor arenas, artwork galleries, theatres, convention centres, horse-racing tracks, auto racing tracks, and different services throughout the Kingdom.

These alternatives offered underneath Vision 2030 could be leveraged by India to spend money on the Kingdom. We would additionally prefer to take this chance to congratulate India on its G20 presidency this 12 months. We are assured that India will lead the worldwide dialog on points associated to local weather change, safety and know-how and so forth. The Kingdom’s presidency of G20 in 2020 was a watershed second in its historical past. Through the worldwide confluence of distinguished nations, Saudi Arabia was in a position to current its personal imaginative and prescient of constructing a strong, sustainable financial system. This has additionally been a key purpose behind the rising ties between Saudi Arabia and India. Both nations have now been working intently collectively in essential fields to realize mutual and strategic aims, in addition to navigating the Covid-19 pandemic and limiting its affect on human capital and financial improvement. This was partly achieved by allocating funds to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI), and different worldwide and regional well being organisations and programmes. Through this, the Kingdom was in a position to bridge the monetary hole within the battle in opposition to Covid-19.

Now, with India assuming the G20 presidency, it paves the best way for the right alternative to maintain significant dialogue round accelerated and inclusive development whereas attaining Sustainable Development Goals as the worldwide financial system navigates via the post-Covid period.

Amidst present international circumstances, India continues to efficiently manoeuvre itself in direction of higher financial progress, constructed on sturdy foundations of sustainability and a thriving local people — a feat and imaginative and prescient that it shares with its shut associate Saudi Arabia. As India celebrates its 74th Republic Day with a imaginative and prescient of progress and prosperity, we sit up for strengthening our collaboration with India to drive each our economies and promote peace and stability within the area and the world.

The author is Ambassador of the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques to India