NEW DELHI: India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to strengthen their bilateral maritime ties, an official statement said on Wednesday.
The two nations have established a Joint Working Group (JWG) on maritime cooperation in the shipping and logistics sectors, signaling a new phase in their strategic partnership.
The decision was taken during a high-level virtual meeting between Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser.
Sonowal highlighted the historic and growing relationship between the countries, noting that India and Saudi Arabia share centuries-old economic and socio-cultural links. He also emphasized that the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Council, co-chaired by the leaders of both nations, has elevated bilateral cooperation to new heights.
Among recent developments, he pointed to the launch of the Jeddah–Mundra/Nhava Sheva route by Saudi Arabia’s Folk Maritime Services, which is expected to reduce transit times and costs. Sonowal also proposed collaboration on India’s MAITRI digital platform to harmonize maritime trade.
Saudi Arabia ranks as India’s fifth-largest trading partner, while India is the Kingdom’s second-largest. Bilateral trade for FY 2024–25 reached approximately USD 42 billion.
During the talks, Sonowal underscored complementarities between India’s Maritime India Vision 2030 and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. India extended an invitation to Saudi Arabia to explore investment opportunities across its ports and shipping ecosystem.
The Maritime Development Fund, with a corpus exceeding USD 3 billion, presents investment prospects in port infrastructure, coastal shipping, and logistics. Key mega projects, including Vadhavan Port on India’s west coast and the Outer Harbour Project at VO Chidambaranar Port in Tamil Nadu, were highlighted as prime destinations for investment.
