Modi to address Davos in the desert as the kingdom woos investments

Senior journalist Smita Sharma pens an article pertaining to scopes of investments as India and Saudi are all set to sign a dozen agreements during Narendra Modi's Riyadh visit.

Hyderabad: The glitzy King Abdul Aziz Conference Center in the magnificent Ritz Carlton in Riyadh is playing host to the third Future Investment Initiative Forum in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The three-day global event popular as the ‘Davos In The Desert’ is the Kingdom’s signal to the international audience that it is changing and opening up for investments and tourism.

The conference that kick started this morning with the opening remarks of Asia O, Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund which is the Sovereign Wealth Fund of KSA, has several parallel thematic sessions discussing future economic trends, the role of sovereign wealth funds in reshaping global investment for a long term to sustained investments in a multipolar world among others. Top Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani was a part of a panel this morning that discusses ‘The next decade: How will a new era of economic ambition shape the global
economy.’

The kingdom that will be hosting the G20 summit next year has laid out a Vision 2030 - the brainchild of the de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman - towards economic transformation and diversification of its oil-based economy. The 2018 FII conference saw several pullouts by elite businessmen and leading global media houses over the gruesome killing of Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan who gave the summit a miss this year was among the keynote speakers in 2018. Interestingly this year Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver his keynote address at the plenary session at 5.30pm local time (8pm IST).

Modi who landed in Riyadh late last night to a warm reception is today meeting The King and the Crown Prince in the bilateral segment of his visit. The Prime Minister will focus his speech on India’s economic growth, its long term implications on global business and financial markets, and current world financial trends. In conversation with Ray Dalio, the Founder and Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Bridgewater Associates, Modi will also talk about the ‘strategies needed to turn demographic, environmental, and supply chain challenges into opportunities for equitable growth and prosperity’ domestically.

PM Modi had focused on more robust strategic investment during his visit to the Kingdom in 2016 when he was conferred upon the highest civilian award King Abdul Aziz Sash. The Kingdom is forging strategic partnership with eight countries including India, China, the UK, the United States, France, Germany, South Korea and Japan going beyond energy security and buyer-seller relationship.

“Our collaboration with Saudi Arabia on the energy front has intensified further and the two sides are set to finalise and move ahead on the west coast refinery in Raigad district of Maharashtra which will involve investments from Saudi’s Aramco, UAE’s ADNOC and Indian public sector oil companies. This will be the single largest Greenfield refinery in India,” said T S Tirumurti, Secretary Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs ahead of the visit.

During the official stalks today the two sides are also expected to sign a MoU on a joint venture between Indian Oil Middle East with Al-Jeri Company of Saudi Arabia for downstream cooperation for inter-alia setting up retail outlets in Saudi Arabia. India is also currently finalising the Kingdom’s investment in its National Infrastructure Investment Fund. Security, Counter-terrorism Cooperation have become important pillars of this bilateral relation.

Saudi Arabia hosts a 2.6 million Indian community which sends back remittances to the tune of nearly 11 billion USD annually. The conservative Kingdom has recently opened its door for global tourism and has relaxed dressing guidelines for foreign female tourists who no longer need an abaya or headscarf. Saudi hopes it will be a destination for tourists from India as well beyond the religious pilgrimage ties.

By Smita Sharma