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  • Wall Street Snubs China for India in a Historic Markets Shift

    A momentous shift is under way in global markets as investors pull billions of dollars from China’s sputtering economy, two decades after betting on the country as the world’s biggest growth story. Much of that cash is now heading for India, with Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley endorsing the South Asian nation as the prime investment destination for the next decade.

  • Saudi Aramco in investment discussions with Indian companies – exec

    State oil giant Saudi Aramco is in investment discussions with companies in India, a senior executive said on Wednesday. "Hopefully we will see some announcements soon on investment in Indian companies," Faisal Faqeer, senior vice-president, liquids to chemicals development, downstream, at Saudi Aramco, told delegates at the India Energy Week in Goa, without specifying its plans. The world's largest crude oil exporter and OPEC kingpin has been boosting its investments in refining and petrochemicals across Asia to secure new markets for its crude, as it sees growth in chemicals central to its downstream expansion strategy.

  • India, Saudi Arabia sign Bilateral Haj Agreement 2024

    Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan signed the Bilateral Haj Agreement 2024 with Minister of Minority Affairs Smriti Irani and Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan in Jeddah. Joint Secretary Nirupama Kotru, who accompanied Smriti Irani, was instrumental in enabling the agreement’s signature and reaffirming the two countries’ commitment to a robust bilateral relationship.

  • India Is Chasing China’s Economy. But Something Is Holding It Back.

    India’s economy is booming. Stock prices are through the roof, among the best performing in the world. The government’s investment in airports, bridges and roads, and clean-energy infrastructure is visible almost everywhere. India’s total output, or gross domestic product, is expected to increase 6 percent this year — faster than the United States or China.

  • India dials Saudi as Russian oil purchases hit 11-month low in December

    India increased imports of Saudi oil in December as payment problems drove its Russian oil buys to an 11-month low, with at least five cargoes of the sweet Sokol variant heading to other locations, data from vessel tracking agencies showed.

  • Great Expectations: The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

    The corridor project was launched through a memorandum of understanding signed by India, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, Germany, France, and Italy on the sidelines of the September G20 summit in New Delhi. It is envisaged as a network of rail, maritime, road, energy, and telecommunication links aimed at forging economic integration and growth by connecting South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is being framed as the West’s and India’s counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

  • Saudi Arabia, India and Indonesia Set To Be 2024’s Fastest Growing Global Economies

    Saudi Arabia will be among the world’s fastest growing economies in 2024, according to a note published by credit ratings agency Moody’s this week, with Kingdom’s GDP growth forecast to expand by 4.6% next year. This means that the Gulf’s biggest economy will be among the three top fastest growing countries in the world next year, with only India and Indonesia set to expand faster. These two latter nations are respectively expected to grow at 6.2% and 5% each next year. Saudi Arabia also ranks ahead of the likes of Sub-Saharan Africa (4.5%), China (4%), Asia-Pacific (4 per cent) and Central Europe (3.7%) in terms of growth forecasts for next year.

  • Saudi Arabia wants the Indian Premier League: Why is there no discussion of ‘sportswashing’?

    First, sportswashing can be a lazy rebuttal to the kingdom’s investment in sports and, in general, the Middle East. The definition of “sportswashing,” which is the practice of using sports to improve reputation, can be rather expansive in practice. Yes, we can all agree Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup to elevate the reputation of the country. So did Brazil with the 2016 Summer Olympics and South Africa with the 2010 World Cup and so will countries in the future.  Saudi officials clearly know that sports can bring good attention to a country. (The Ministry of Culture has a nice selfie on Instagram from NBA great Lebron James’s visit during September this year…yes Lebron James was in Saudi Arabia.) That said, it is not the sole reason for investing in sports, but it is obviously low-hanging fruit for politicians, because it will always contain some truth.

  • IMEC transit route puts India-Iran trade ties to the test

    At this year’s G20 summit, held in New Delhi last month, leaders of several states—including European governments, India, Saudi Arabia, the US, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on an initiative to connect India to Europe via West Asia. Dubbed the “India-Europe-Middle East Corridor” (IMEC), the route is viewed by some observers as a rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and as a means to isolate Iran. India will embark on this new trade route despite having committed to several major transit projects with Iran: namely, the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and development of the southeastern Iranian Chabahar Port.

  • The India-Middle East Corridor: a Biden Road Initiative?

    Since its announcement, IMEC has garnered much attention and much criticism. Economists and regional experts expressed their reservations on the feasibility—both politically and financially—of a corridor that would redraw the map of infrastructure across Eurasia. But such skepticism is missing the point of IMEC in the first place. The project serves primarily as a US diplomatic tool to counter China’s influence in the Middle East. In fact, IMEC should be considered in the same light as Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): an ambitious foreign policy project that captures the world’s attention, even though it is unlikely to deliver on its lofty promises.