Adnan Mandoura, Secretary General of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, accompanied by Faiz Ahmad Kidwai (in brown suit and tie), Consul General of India, grace the opening of the Indian leather goods exhibition at the JCCI headquarters Saturday. Syeda Amtul Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The Council of Leather Exports of India (CLE) delegation is on a two-day visit to Jeddah until today (Monday) for a “Buyer-Seller Meet” organized by the council, and supported by the Consulate general of India. The meeting was jointly inaugurated Saturday by Adnan Mandoura, Secretary General of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Faiz Ahmad Kidwai, Consul General of India. The trade fair is organized with the participation of 12 member-exporters who display footwear and leather goods during their stay, with the goal of further enhancing India's export of leather products to Saudi Arabia. Speaking on the occasion, Mandoura said there was a tremendous scope to improve the commercial and business relations between India and Saudi Arabia, and hoped that such visits will further strengthen the business cooperation. He feels delighted to have this kind of exhibition at the JCCI and said “it's very pleasurable thing to have the concept of Indian leather in Saudi Arabia and I hope that it will strengthen the trade relation of both countries.” The leather products are very much in demand now a days and he wished for success of all traders and corporates who exhibit there, and hope this kind of activities will be more in future, he added. The Indian leather industry registered an impressive export growth during 2011-12, with export reaching an all-time high value of $4.86 billion as compared to $3.96 billion in 2010-11. Kidwai said the “consulate has been trying continuously to promote the business relations in both countries.” Last year, the total volume of trade between India and Saudi Arabia witnessed an increase of 47 percent as compared to $36.47 billion in the preceding period, and became the 4th largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia from from 5th earlier. Kidwai added that a Tourism RoadShow and Food Festival of India were organized in Jeddah, saying that given the huge success of the last shows, the Ministry of Tourism is planning another roadshow on tourism and food festival in January 2013. R. Ramesh Kumar, Executive Director, CLE and leader of the delegation, gave an impressive presentation showing India's sizeable presence in the international leather market. He said a lot of initiatives are being taken by the Indian government to further improve the quality and capacity of the Indian leather industry, which is primarily based in the cities of Chennai, Kanpur and Agra, among others. He further said that the Indian leather industry exports witnessed a growth of 22.68 percent and earned revenue $4.86 billion in revenues in 2011-12 and the prospects of such growth look brighter in the future, with a target of $17 billion in 2017. “This exclusive buyer and seller meet aims to promote the trade relations between two countries. We hope the people-to-people contact will grow and bring both countries closer to each other,” Kumar added.
