Saudi Arabia and India have explored ways to expand their strategic partnership by strengthening cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors.
During an official visit to India, from February 3-6, 2025, a Saudi delegation, led by the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, held a series of meetings in New Delhi and Mumbai with Indian officials and leaders of major companies to foster bilateral relations and attract investments to the Kingdom.
Areas of Cooperation
The Saudi Industry Minister began his visit with bilateral meetings with the Indian Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Jagat Prakash Nadda, and Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries, H.D. Kumaraswamy, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
During these meetings, both sides explored ways to bolster cooperation across many sectors, including petrochemicals and fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, heavy machinery, automotive, and spare parts.
The Indian Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers showed great interest in exploring collaboration prospects in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the Indian Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries expressed interest in harnessing Saudi Arabia’s magnesium reserves to produce refractory materials used in the iron and steel industry.
Expanding Industrial Partnership
As part of his visit to India, Al-Khorayef met with the Indian Minister of Industry and Supply, Shri Piyush Goyal, in New Delhi, where they discussed enhancing industrial cooperation between Saudi Arabia and India.
During this meeting, both sides explored ways to expand industrial partnerships and attract investments to strategic industrial sectors in the Kingdom.
Moreover, the Saudi Minister underscored the solid economic relations between Saudi Arabia and India, highlighting the promising opportunities to further deepen joint cooperation in the industrial sector.
Saudi-Indian Roundtable Meeting
Chairing a roundtable meeting with Indian private sector leaders in New Delhi, Al-Khorayef stressed that India is a key strategic partner to Saudi Arabia in various economic sectors, particularly industry and mining.
He added that the Kingdom is sparing no effort to foster this partnership across several vital sectors, such as automotive, medical industries, biotechnology, chemical and petrochemical industries, as well as equipment, machinery, and renewable energy.
Furthermore, Al-Khorayef highlighted the role of Saudi Vision 2030 in driving economic diversification in the Kingdom, offering promising opportunities to boost cooperation with India, most notably in the manufacturing and mining sectors.
Industry Localization
During the roundtable meeting, the Saudi Industry Minister noted that the automotive sector provides a platform for building robust investment partnerships between Saudi Arabia and India, given that the Kingdom is one of the top automotive importers in the Middle East.
In the light of this, Saudi Arabia seeks to localize automotive industry, including components manufacturing, and supply chain, by capitalizing on global expertise in automotive manufacturing, according to Al-Khorayef.
The Saudi Minister also pointed to the Kingdom’s leadership in petrochemical industries, being one of the world’s top petrochemicals producers.
Moreover, Al-Khorayef expressed Saudi Arabia’s interest in India’s machinery manufacturing sector, given Delhi’s advanced capabilities in this sector and Riyadh’s ambitions to become a key player in the global mining market, raising its demand on machinery and heavy equipment.
Attracting Indian Investments
Saudi Arabia has launched several programs and initiatives to create a favorable industrial investment environment, said Al-Khorayef. These include the Future Factories Program, which encourages adopting new technologies, allocates land at low lease rates, and offers financial support for promising projects through the Industrial Development Fund.
Furthermore, the Kingdom provides support for national exports, through the Saudi Export Development Authority. It also develops the industrial infrastructure, provides energy at competitive prices, trains local employees, and attracts foreign talents.
Highlighting the Kingdom’s efforts to promote investments, Al-Khorayef invited Indian companies to leverage the promising investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
Strengthening Mining Cooperation
Al-Khorayef’s visit to India focused on bolstering cooperation in the mining sector. With regards to this, the Saudi Industry Minister met with India’s Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy. Both ministers held discussions on fostering joint collaboration in the mining and minerals sector.
HE Minister of #Industry_and_Mineral_Resources, Bandar AlKhorayef, concludes his official visit to the Republic of India. pic.twitter.com/xlBQvu3huZ
— وزارة الصناعة والثروة المعدنية (@mimgov) February 7, 2025
Moreover, they explored shared opportunities in mineral exploration and critical minerals mining, ways to exchange expertise on sustainable mining practices, and smart solutions in mining operations and mines management.
Both sides also discussed boosting cooperation in developing human capabilities in mining, and enhancing collaboration between universities, scientific research institutions and specialized companies to develop new technologies for efficient mining and environmental sustainability.
Vision 2030: A Driver for Partnership Expansion
The Saudi Industry Minister emphasized the significance of Vision 2030 in opening new horizons for expanding the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and India in the industry and mining sectors.
During a roundtable meeting in Mumbai, held in cooperation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Al-Khorayef noted that the Saudi-Indian Business Council is making tireless efforts to enhance bilateral economic ties, build successful and productive investment partnerships, and provide more business and investment opportunities in both countries.
Additionally, Al-Khorayef highlighted the harmony between the objectives of Vision 2030 and India’s capabilities in the industrial and mining sectors, which makes joint cooperation more productive.
Fostering Saudi-Indian Investments
The Saudi Industry Minister met with leaders and CEOs of several Indian companies in New Delhi and Mumbai, exploring investment opportunities and avenues of cooperation.
In the light of this, Al-Khorayef met with the leaders of TATA Group‘s affiliates: TATA Defense, TATA electronics limited, and TATA steel Limited, at the Group’s headquarters in Mumbai.
The meeting discussed ways to boost cooperation in aerospace, defense, steel and electronics industries. The Saudi Minister highlighted the key investment opportunities in 12 promising industrial sectors targeted by the National Industrial Strategy, including aerospace, military and defense industries, and electronics.
Furthermore, Al-Khorayef held meetings with the CEOs of several Indian mining companies, including Vedanta, BAHARAT Forge, and Aditya Birla. These meetings focused on exploring the promising investment opportunities in the mining sector, as well as fostering cooperation in mining exploration and critical mining production.
Al-Khorayef also met with the leaders of Ashok Leyland, Cipla Pharma, Uno Minda, and Essar, in addition to several mining and manufacturing companies. The Saudi Minister also visited the research and technology center of UPL, a company specialized in sustainable agriculture solutions.
During his visit to India, Al-Khorayef witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the National Industrial Development Center (NIDC) and Ashok Leyland. The MoU aims to localize the manufacturing of buses, trucks and electric vehicles in Saudi Arabia.
