Source Credit: Arab News
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Al-Khorayef, visited India on official business. He discussed ways to improve cooperation in mineral discovery, production, and processing as well as potential investment prospects. The visit, which took place from February 3–6, 2025, was to explore cooperative mining and industrial potential, draw investments to Saudi Arabia, and improve bilateral ties.
Alkhorayef met with G Kishan Reddy, the Indian Minister of Mines, to talk about prospects and look at new ways to collaborate on technology and invest in the vital mineral industry.
Key points
- With an emphasis on creating a robust mineral supply chain to lessen reliance on imports and encouraging joint ventures for processing essential minerals to support sustainable energy technologies, they decided to increase collaboration in this area.
- Adopting cutting-edge mining innovations and technology for sustainable mineral exploration and extraction was another topic of discussion.
- Meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Coal and Mines, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, the Ministry of Steel, the Ministry of Heavy Industries, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry were also part of the Saudi delegation's visit.
- They also visited significant Indian enterprises, such as Aditya Birla Mining Group, TATA Electronics Group, and UPL Chemical Industries, and held a roundtable discussion with executives from the private sector in India.
With strong economic and trade ties, Saudi Arabia and India have maintained strategic cooperation for more than 76 years. India imported SR3.14 billion from Saudi Arabia in November, while Saudi Arabia exported SR2.52 billion ($672 million) in non-energy goods to India.
