Saudi Logistics Hub Roadshow
Saudi Arabia and India share a commitment to expanding and liberalizing bilateral trade relations, said Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Saudi Minister of Transport in Mumbai on 23 Dec 2019.
Underlining this, he said Saudi Logistics Hub’s decision to include India as the final 2019 stopover of its series of global investment roadshows is testimony to these strengthening synergies.
“We aim to contribute to shaping a conducive business landscape in our country and look forward to leveraging our existing ties with our foreign partners to encourage the growth and development of the logistics sector,” said the Minister who is also chairman of the Hub.
He highlighted Saudi Arabia’s efforts to transform the country’s logistics sector and promoted opportunities for cooperation with India during the roadshow by Hub, a government initiative mandated to support the growth of Saudi Arabia’s logistics sector.
The Hub aims to attract investments to the Kingdom’s logistics sector and strengthen the country’s ties with key global logistics markets from the roadshow which drew participation of business leaders from the Indian logistics industry.
Saudi Arabia and India have stepped up trade and investment cooperation in recent years. In 2018, India was Saudi Arabia’s third largest export market and fifth largest import market, valued at US$5.5 billion and US$28.4 billion, respectively.
Saudi Arabia currently commands a 55% share of the logistics industry in the GCC region. Over the last decade, the country has invested more than US$100 billion in its transport and logistics infrastructure, resulting in a comprehensive nationwide network.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia achieved a 47% increase in the number of new foreign transport and logistics companies, according to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.
Today, Saudi Arabia has one of the fastest-growing logistics sectors globally. The country ranked as the world’s fastest economic reformer in the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 report, climbing 30 positions to the 62nd place in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking.
Saudi Arabia has demonstrated significant improvements in nine out of 10 areas, surging 72 spots to the 86th place in the Trading Across Borders Ranking that factors in time and cost of the logistical process in the export and import of goods and services.
In addition, the country jumped up 103 places to the 38th spot in the Starting a Business Ranking. The impressive reforms are part of the government’s endeavors to enhance the business climate and encourage foreign investors to set up operations in Saudi Arabia, said a release from the Hub.
The global roadshow provided a platform to promote the latest opportunities for collaboration and investment in Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning logistics industry while building the credentials of the Saudi Logistics Hub as a distinctive logistical gateway to Asia, Africa and Europe.
The agenda also included the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, China, Japan, Singapore and Germany.
The Saudi Logistics Hub is a government initiative formed by leading transport and logistics entities in Saudi Arabia with a mandate to support growth in the sector and position the country as a strategic gateway at the crossroads of three continents in line with Vision 2030’s bold ambitions.
The Hub is transforming Saudi Arabia into a globally competitive and efficient export, re-export, and domestic connectivity platform through enhancing the sector’s infrastructure, processes, procedures, and regulatory frameworks. fiinews.com
