G20 Summit: Startup Bridge between India and Saudi Arabia announced

Prince Fahad Bin Mansour Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia stated that Saudi Arabia wanted to keep the momentum of collaboration going while boosting entrepreneurship in both nations

Following the announcement of a Saudi Arabian investment facilitation centre in India on Sunday, Prince Fahad Bin Mansour Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia spoke about a StartUp Bridge initiative between the two nations with ANI on Monday.

 

After congratulating India for successfully hosting the 2023 G20 Summit, Prince Fahad Bin Mansour spoke about the initiative that aims to foster entrepreneurship ecosystems in both nations and foster a climate of collaboration and innovation that StartUp India and Invest Saudi would facilitate.

 

Prince Fahad Bin Mansour said, "Today, one of the main goals that we have is to activate this Bridge… Under the leadership of both government organisations, with the Ministry of Investment in Saudi, a lot of things will be there," he added.

The StartUp Bridge, a joint endeavour between the two countries, is expected to pave the way for numerous initiatives to solve pressing issues.

 

Prince Fahad emphasised, "We will work to see how entrepreneurs can solve a lot of problems that we are facing." He also underlined the importance of integrating 'Startup 20,' an official engagement group established under the G20 India Presidency 2023, into this bridge.

 

"We have seen a lot of MoUs that have been signed...We would like to see the momentum keep on going. We are here to support and we just concluded the Investment Forum between Saudi and India," added the Prince.

 

What is Startup20?

 

Startup20, as described by the G20 India Presidency 2023, is an official engagement group that acts as a dialogue forum for global startup ecosystem stakeholders. Its primary objective is to represent the global startup ecosystem's concerns and challenges to G20 leaders. Like other G20 engagement groups, Startup20 collaborates with G20 Sherpa and the Startup20 secretariat, according to the official Startup20 website.

 

The group focuses on identifying key topics for discussion and formulating recommendations in various priority areas. These recommendations are developed through a consensus-based approach and are eventually submitted to the G20 presidency for discussion at the G20 Summit.

 

Startup20 India

 

Startup20 India operates through Task Forces, each designed to address specific priorities and topics. These task forces develop recommendations to support startup ecosystems globally, which are conveyed through a communique to the G20 India presidency and discussed during the G20 Summit 2023.

 

The Startup20 Shikhar Summit, hosted in Gurugram in July, celebrated the successful completion of Startup20's inaugural year and the release of the final "Policy Communique". This was a significant step towards the group's commitment to globally fostering entrepreneurship.

 

In the coming months, the StartUp Bridge initiative will likely amplify the impact of Startup20, as it forms a crucial part of the effort to bolster entrepreneurship ecosystems and strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia and India.

 

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Modi also announced the establishment of a Startup Bridge between India and Italy. He especially emphasises increasing cooperation in areas like renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, semiconductors, telecom and space.