Tuesday, April 5 2005 18:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dubai: Economic cooperation mainly in IT, energy and related fields is likely to dominate the agenda of Finance Minister P Chidambaram's visit to Saudi Arabia next week to attend the Indo-Saudi Joint Commission meeting in Riyadh on April 12 and 13.

Chidambaram's visit, which comes close on the heels of Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Iyer's trip to Saudi Arabia last month end, is expected to focus on economic cooperation in the fields of Information Technology and energy as well as related sectors, official sources in Riyadh said.

The timing of the Joint Commission meeting is crucial since it is being held after a gap of eight years, officials said.

The last meeting was held in New Delhi in 1997 and before that it took place in Saudi Arabia in 1994, which was attended by then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.

India is the 4th largest trading partner for Saudi Arabia. Since mid-2000, a number of Indian firms have taken advantage of the new Saudi laws and established joint venture projects or wholly owned subsidiaries in the Kingdom.

According to Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), during last two years it has issued new 65 licenses to Indian companies for joint ventures, which are expected to bring a total investment of $ 362.64 million (Rs 1,584 crore approx) in Saudi Arabia.