LD PM TWO

"Our trade and investment linkages have grown though
they remain much below the potential of our two economies and
must be broad-based," Singh said.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trading partner
with two-way commerce being to the tune of about 25 billion
dollars.
Referring to the Delhi Declaration issued during the
visit of King Abdullah here in 2006 as Republic Day chief
guest, the Prime Minister said it was a "valuable blueprint"
of cooperation between the two countries in the future.
Noting that Gulf region is an area of vital importance
for India's security and prosperity, he said that Saudi Arabia
is India's largest and most reliable supplier of energy needs
from the region.
Energy cooperation between the two countries has
witnessed massive increase since King Abdullah's Delhi visit,
with Saudi exports jumping from USD 500 million in 2006 to USD
23 billion in 2008, surpassing Iran as the largest supplier of
crude oil to India.
Saudi Arabia hosts around 1.8 million Indians as workers.
Their remittances are to the tune of five billion dollars
annually.
In an interview to Saudi journalists ahead of his visit,
Singh said that considerable progress had been made in
realising the vision of Delhi Declaration which enshrined the
commitment to pursue common strategic vision for promoting
regional peace and security.
Pointing out that extremism and terrorism afflicting the
region poses a "grave threat to our peoples", he said
efforts of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) should be
more effectively coordinated to meet the challenges. (More)
PTI AKK
MRD


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