Indio-Saudi Arabian ties
Saudi Arabia plans 10,000 new Schools to speed up 'Saudiazation'
KERALAMONITOR Riyadh: The bilateral economic relationship between India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may improve and a number of Indian companies are keenly watching the upcoming projects and investment options in Saudi Arabia. Taking into account the marathon race to improve Saudiaisation of jobs, various Indian companies in the Information Technology education field have already moved to Saudi Arabia. Even if Saudiazation - a term referring to the replacement of expatriate workers with Saudi nationals- threatens to cause job loss to thousands or Indian expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia, Indian companies can capitalise on the training requirements of the Kingdom and grab more business.
According to sources, the education sector in Saudi Arabia is all set to boom. It is realised that in order to prepare Saudi nationals to replace skilled and semi skilled expatriate workers, more schools and training programmes are required. As the existing education infrastructure is insufficient, Saudi Government is planning to construct at least 3,000 schools soon. According to Saudi Ministry of Education, Saudi Arabia may need at least 10,000 new schools over a few year period. Recently an American consortium was granted permission from the Saudi Government to construct about 3000 new schools under Build Operate and Transfer system at a cost of $3.4 billion. An important area will be IT training and Indian companies are keen to exploit the potential in IT training business. As part of Saudiasation, Indian companies are now focusing on the setting up of small and medium enterprises in the service sectors like IT, tourism, media and small manufacturing industries. Already, some of Indian IT institutions like NIIT and APTEC are providing training in computer related skills locally.
Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha may also visit Riyadh for the joint economic commission (JEC) meeting, in which new joint ventures proposals in areas like petrochemicals, shipping, information technology and plastics manufacturing are expected. Arab News, a leading English Daily from Riyadh said in a recent report quoting diplomatic officials that a bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement (BIPPA), already initialed, will be signed during the minister's visit and a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) would be among the issues on the JEC meeting.
Saudi Arabia is preparing to unveil plans for a multibillion dollar railway project to link Jeddah on the Red Sea and Dammam on the Gulf Coast through Riyadh. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council member countries are planning a major railway network to facilitate easy movement of goods and services, especially after the implementation of an Arab Common Market plan within a few years. Indian companies with rich experience in railway transport, are keenly watching the situation. Currently Saudi Arabia is the only Gulf country with a small railway network.
An agreement had been finalized for cooperation in combating crime and drug trafficking, and matters related to illegal arms and terrorism. On the cultural front Riyadh will witness an exhibition on Indian women's traditional and modern dresses in November and a major costume exhibition next February. With 200,000 Indian pilgrims coming for the Haj and Umrah annually, the new Umrah regulations will enable pilgrims and businessmen to travel to tourist places like Taif, Abha and Madain Saleh.