Syeda Amtul Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The Consulate General of India, Jeddah in collaboration with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI) organized a two-day “Catalogue Show of Indian Companies” that kicked off Wednesday at the JCCI premises. The show, inaugurated by Adnan Mandoura, secretary general, JCCI along with Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, aimed at further strengthening trade relations between India & Saudi Arabia, and it presented an opportunity to Saudi entrepreneurs, businessmen and interested parties in getting first-hand information about doing business with India, and also get on-the-spot contact details of the leading Indian companies dealing in various sectors. Speaking on the occasion, Mandourah said “this catalog show is for Indian companies and we are really proud to host this event in the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce. This is a continuous activity between the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Consulate to promote the Indian companies. We are very proud about the relation between Saudi Arabia and India in term of business which witnesses sustained growth. He added that “I invite Saudi companies to come and see what we have here, a lot of the products belongs to companies which never come to Saudi Arabia and they want to come here and work with Saudi partners.” When asked about his views and expectations as a representative of the Jeddah chamber on Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince's current visit to India, Mandourah replied that “I see that relations from top level are very strong and HRH Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz's today's visit to India expresses that we are partners and we are really proud of this relations. The expectations are more now, I am sure it will improve more.” Moreover, he said “the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce is the main gate of business. Asked about the facilities provided to participating companies, he said “what we can do is to open the environment for them to do business, and if they need any connection we are ready from both side and that is also agreed by Indian Consulate.” He appreciated the Indian Consulate's efforts regarding this matter. According to him, he will be there as a facilitator to Indian companies in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Kidwai said “we are happy to have this here, this is our second time as last year we had also a catalog show in the Jeddah Chamber premises and the response has been very good. We get a large number of queries from here, every year we try to organize about three to four catalog shows in the Western region, so we already have done in Taif, and after Jeddah, we are planning to Makkah and Abha Chambers of Commerce and industries. He added that “more than 400 companies have got SAGIA licenses and total investment is almost now $2 billion in the Kingdom. Last year some very major investments decisions have been taken. If those are implemented, then the total Indian investment in the Kingdom will cross $5 billion. “Today we have got catalogs of more than 80 companies and we have got various sectors from construction to food to machinery, computer software and we have also some specific material which we have made in the consulate on various sectors like leather, textile, handicrafts, handlooms and that also, we have kept here,” Kidwai added. Catalogs of Indian companies include many sectors such as textiles/readymade garments, leather products, food items, electrical and electronic accessories, packaging industry, machinery & equipment, computer software & hardware, stationery, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical equipment, agriculture machinery, household appliances, handicrafts, gift items, construction, tourism, etc were on display.
