Prince Saud upbeat on Saudi-Indian ties

Jeddah, Jul 15: Prince Saud bin Musaed bin Abdul Aziz, president of the Gammon Group, has highlighted the strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and India.

“We hope the Saudi-Indian relations would reach greater heights in the coming years,” he said while addressing an iftar party organized by the group.

He said many major Indian companies are interested in doing business in Saudi Arabia to make use of the growing investment opportunities in the Kingdom.

“Last year, more than 35,000 Saudis visited India for education and medical treatment,” the prince said, while commending the role played by Indian expatriate workers in boosting the Kingdom’s development in various sectors.

Shaikh Mohammed Rafik, chairman of Gammon Group, said more than 20 international companies, including those from India, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and China, have agreed to establish their plants in the new industrial city being developed by Gammon in Jazan.

“We are looking for investors in areas required by the Kingdom, including automobiles. We are in talks with a South Korean company to establish an automobile plant in Jazan,” Rafik told Arab News.

The new industrial city is expected to draw investments worth SR75 billion, the chairman said, adding that it would create about 100,000 jobs. He commended Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Nasser, director of international trade at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for his efforts to speed up establishment of the industrial city.

He added that Prince Turki has been authorized by the government to develop the city by bringing in foreign investors to build the city’s entire infrastructure facilities, such as roads, bridges, commercial centers, power plants, water treatment plants, oil refinery and petrochemical plants.

“If major companies are ready to invest and transfer their technology, the government will pay them 75 percent of their project cost in soft loans for 20 years,” Rafik told Arab News.

The iftar party was attended by prominent personalities, including Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak, British Consul General Mohammed Shaukat, South African Consul General Ebrahim Edries, Khaled Almaeena, former editor in chief of Saudi Gazette, Tariq Mishkhas, editor in chief of Urdu News and Malayalam News, Dr. Faiz Al-Abideen, CEO of Gammon Group, A.P. Abubacker Musliyar, general secretary of All-India Jameyat Al-Ulema, and Syed Bashirali Shihab Thangal.