Srinagar- The Federation of Chambers of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) has underscored the need for diversification of bilateral trade ties between India and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia beyond the conventional field of oil in order to explore opportunities in other areas such as handicrafts, textiles, food processing, horticulture produce, sports goods, trout fish, organic vegetables and tourism.
The issue was raised by a delegation of FCIK during its interactive session with Indian Ambassador to KSA Dr. Suhail Aijaz Khan at Sanat Ghar, Srinagar. The delegation of FCIK was led by Shahid Kamili and included M.D Qureshi and Afaq Qadiri.
The delegation told the Ambassador that given the fact that India and KSA were currently in the process of reinventing their economic strategy, Jammu and Kashmir offered varied products and services to help in balancing the trade between the two countries. India was currently at a disadvantageous position in the bilateral trade of 42.8 billion US dollars with exports of 8.76 billion dollars against imports of 34.1 billion dollars during the year 2021-22.
FCIK informed the Ambassador about the goods manufactured by local industrialists that had all the potential of exports to KSA.
Besides the handicrafts which included Shawls, Carpets, Wood carved furniture, paper mashie etc, FCIK showcased the machine made textiles which included Saudi headdress popularly known as ghutra or kuffiya made from pure cotton and pashmina. The locally manufactured cricket bats and other sports goods had the potential to attract buyers for their high quality and reasonable price.
“The Indian Embassy could facilitate promotion of Kashmiri wazwan and other packaged food processed items in Saudi Arabia besides vegetables and fruits grown both organically and un-organically” informed the delegation, adding that the cold water trout fish farmed in Kashmir was considered a novelty in whole of the world including Middle East.
The Ambassador was informed that Kashmir had scores of industrial units processing fresh mineral water and juices which could be exported to international markets including KSA.
The delegation told the Ambassador that FCIK had been on the forefront for quite some time to seek promotion of Kashmir-goods with support from Ministry of Commerce and had also initiated a show in UAE showcasing GI tagged Kashmiri Saffron and organic vegetables. Besides, FCIK had successfully pumped 3500 MTs of apples in Dubai stores from our cold stores. The organisation had successfully convinced the ministry of Commerce for approving 50% Air freight subsidy on horticulture and trout fish.
FCIK hoped that the Indian Embassy would help FCIK in organizing exhibitions for exhibiting our products besides organizing B2B meetings with traders and Saudi Chambers.
The Indian Ambassador to KSA assured the FCIK delegation of its full support and cooperation besides taking up the travel and transport issues with relevant quarters. He asked FCIK to remain in touch with the Embassy for all actionable endeavors required for promotion and furthering of trade between the two countries.
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