Indian businesses look to collaborate with KSA at B20 Summit – EQ

• Saudi delegation to B20 led by CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

• Saudi Arabia is the fastest-growing G20 economy, India comes second

NEW DELHI : Indian businesses are hoping for greater collaboration with Saudi Arabia, the organizer of the Business 20 Summit said, as delegations from G20 countries met in New Delhi on Saturday.

B20 is the official G20 forum for the global business community. Under India’s G20 presidency this year, the B20 Summit, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry, runs from Aug. 25-27.

Its program is focused on promoting a “sustainable, digitized, innovative and inclusive business paradigm” under the theme “R.A.I.S.E” (responsible, accelerated, innovative, sustainable, and equitable businesses).

Manish Mohan, senior director for international affairs at the confederation, described the presence of the Saudi delegation as “extremely important.”

He told Arab News: “They are part of B20, and they are helping shape the agenda of this B20. This is a kind of a collaborative effort, and this program is to address the critical global challenges that are shaping the future of businesses.”

The Saudi delegation is led by Abdulrahman bin Saleh Al-Fageeh, CEO of petrochemicals group Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. Ahead of the summit, he told reporters that the meetings, besides addressing critical global challenges, are expected to foster collaboration between Indian and Saudi companies.

Indian businesses are keen on partnerships with the Kingdom, which, with annual growth of 8.7 percent in 2022, is the fastest-growing G20 economy. India is second, with growth of 6.7 percent.

“There’s huge interest in Saudi Arabia from the Indian industry. We are organizing B2B meetings and seeing a lot of businesses looking at Saudi Arabia in a big way,” Mohan said.

“I’m sure that these kinds of interactions happening at the highest level between Saudi Arabian and Indian businesses will play (their) part in greater economic integration and more business.”