India, Saudi Arabia set up joint group to boost maritime cooperation

India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to deepen bilateral maritime relations, an official statement said on Wednesday.

Both countries have formed a Joint Working Group (JWG) on maritime cooperation in the shipping and logistics sectors, marking a new chapter in the strategic partnership, the statement said.

This 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.

According to the statement, Sonowal underscored the historic and growing relationship between the two nations.

India and Saudi Arabia share centuries-old economic and socio-cultural ties, he said.

The establishment of the strategic partnership council, co-chaired by the leaders of both countries, has elevated bilateral cooperation to new heights. Sonowal pointed to recent developments, including the launch of the JeddahMundra/Nhava Sheva route by Saudi Arabia's Folk Maritime Services, which is expected to cut down transit times and costs.

He also proposed collaboration on India's MAITRI digital platform for the harmonisation of maritime trade.

Saudi Arabia is India's fifth-largest trading partner, while India stands as the Kingdom's second-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in FY 202425 stood at approximately USD 42 billion.

During the talks, Sonowal highlighted complementarities between India's Maritime India Vision 2030 and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 with Saudi Vision 2030. India invited Saudi Arabia to explore investment prospects across its port and shipping ecosystem.

The Maritime Development Fund, with a corpus of more than USD 3 billion, offers opportunities in port infrastructure, coastal shipping and logistics. Mega projects such as Vadhavan Port on India's west coast and the Outer Harbour Project at VO Chidambaranar Port in Tamil Nadu were showcased as key investment destinations.