India and Saudi Arabia Establish Joint Working Group to Strengthen Maritime Trade, Logistics, and Sustainable Infrastructure.
International
In August 2025, following a high-level virtual meeting between India’s Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Transport and Logistic Services, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, both nations announced the creation of a Joint Working Group to enhance maritime cooperation in shipping and logistics.
- The Joint Working Group (JWG) on maritime cooperation was established to build on the Strategic Partnership Council’s agenda, aiming to strengthen bilateral ties through focused policy dialogue and infrastructure collaboration in shipping and logistics sectors.
- This initiative followed a virtual high-level meeting between India’s Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Saudi Arabia’s Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser. During discussions, both sides emphasized historical economic ties and socio-cultural convergence as foundations for deeper maritime engagement.
- Sarbananda Sonowal highlighted the launch of the new Jeddah–Mundra/Nhava Sheva shipping route by Saudi Arabia’s Folk Maritime Services that promises reduced transit time and cost. He also proposed collaboration on India’s MAITRI digital platform to facilitate seamless maritime trade.
Main Point :- (i) Bilateral trade between India and Saudi Arabia stood at approximately USD 42 billion in FY 2024–25. The maritime cooperation initiative aligns India’s Maritime India Vision 2030 and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 with Saudi Vision 2030, offering synergistic pathways in logistics, sustainability, and trade infrastructure.
(ii) India invited Saudi investment into its maritime ecosystem through its Maritime Development Fund, with a corpus exceeding USD 3 billion. Major projects like Vadhavan Port (Maharashtra) and the Outer Harbour Project at VO Chidambaranar Port (Tamil Nadu) were presented as prime investment opportunities.
(iii) The collaboration seeks to build joint ventures in green hydrogen hub ports, digitalized port operations, and sustainable shipping solutions. With India’s trillion-dollar maritime roadmap, the partnership emphasizes investments in future-ready, environmentally conscious maritime infrastructure.
About Saudi Arabia
Capital: Riyadh
Currency: Saudi Riyal
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