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Senior Saudi and Indian officials to meet to review progress on 'Riyadh Declaration'

RIYADH: Senior Saudi and Indian officials will hold a meeting here on Tuesday to resolve the controversy surrounding the recent imposition of anti-dumping duties by India on the imports of polypropylene.

"The anti-dumping issue will be on the agenda besides many other topics of common interest for the two strategic partners," said Saudi Ambassador to India Faisal H. Trad speaking by phone from New Delhi. "I am confident that this anti-dumping issue will be solved once and for all in near future."

The two-day meeting, he said, will be a follow-up panel's meeting that will review the agenda of the Joint Economic Commission and also review the progress made on bilateral subjects contained in the landmark Riyadh Declaration that was endorsed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Feb. 28.

Trad spoke on various aspects of Saudi-Indo relations, including bilateral agreements signed during the visit of the Indian premier and the Haj arrangements. He pointed out that about 170,000 pilgrims from India will perform Haj this year.

"The Saudi Embassy in New Delhi has already endorsed about 25,000 Haj visas, while our Mumbai-based consulate has stamped more than 70,000 visas so far," he added. "By the end of September, all the visas will be given."

The missions, he said, had also been distributing pamphlets and literature to educate pilgrims about Haj in general and about the safety measures and Haj rituals in particular before they depart.

Referring to his talks with Indian Minister of Finance Pranab Mukherjee last week, he said the minister assured he would look into the issue of anti-dumping and pledged to resolve it as soon as possible.

"The Kingdom and India are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and they comply with the regulatory provisions of this world trade body," said the diplomat, adding that the economies of the Kingdom and India are inextricably linked through networks of trade.

He pointed out that Mukherjee had also spoken to Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza recently on various issues of bilateral interest including anti-dumping duties. To this end, he noted that a business delegation led by Alireza is scheduled to visit India in November. These exchanges, he said, would further strengthen commercial and cultural ties.

Trad said that India has emerged as the fifth largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia.

Trade between Riyadh and New Delhi has increased from $300 million in 2000 to $28 billion in 2009, with Riyadh becoming the largest supplier of energy to India, he noted.

By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN

© Arab News 2010

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