13-04-05 In a bid to boost bilateral trade, India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of oil and gas, infrastructure, IT and telecom.
The whole range of bilateral trade came for a review during the Indo-Saudi joint commission meeting, co-chaired by Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Saudi Minister for Planning and Economy Khaled al-Gosaibi in Riyadh. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding for setting up a Saudi-Indian Joint Business Council and specialised sub-committees to identify the areas of cooperation in it and other key sectors.

An upshot of the joint commission meeting was the decision to send a Saudi delegation to India in November. Besides it, the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in oil and gas, infrastructure, healthcare and telecommunications sectors.
Al-Gosaibi, also acting Minister of Commerce and Industry of Saudi Arabia, announced the formation of specialised sub-committees to carry out the task.

Chidambaram named Saroj Kumar Poddar, senior vice president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) as the co-chairman of the joint committee on the Indian side.
Al-Gosaibi said both countries would deepen cooperation between their various public and private-sector agencies through the exchange of information, expertise and visits, besides organising seminars on business issues.