Saudi Arabia sees USD 100 bn investment opportunity in India: Crown Prince

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia sees an investment opportunity of USD 100 billion in India in various sectors, said visiting Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Wednesday, February 20 in New Delhi.

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Addressing the media along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the crown prince said Saudi Arabia has already invested USD 44 billion in India since the visit of Modi in 2016 to the Gulf nation.

He also lauded India's strength in the information technology (IT) and said Saudi Arabia too was investing a lot in the sector.

"We understand that there are opportunities for more than USD 100 billion investment in India...We want to strengthen investment and economic ties to ensure useful returns for both countries," the crown prince said.

He informed that Saudi Arabia has invested in India in petrochemicals and diversifying into other sectors.

"We want to increase cooperation with India as it will give a new direction to our relationship," he said.

Later T S Tirumurti, Secretary (ER) in Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters that there is a commitment by Saudi Arabia to invest USD 100 billion in sectors like energy, petrochemicals and manufacturing. When asked by when investments would be made, the Secretary said there was no timeline.

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The crown prince arrived here on a less than 30-hour visit on Tuesday, February 19, night, a day after concluding his high-profile tour of Pakistan where he said dialogue was the only way to resolve "outstanding issues" between India and Pakistan.

In a special gesture, Modi received Salman at the airport here, signifying the importance India attaches to the visit by the leader of the Gulf nation.