India to collaborate with Saudi Arabia for setting up two refineries

New Delhi: India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to collaborate on establishing two oil refineries in India. The decision was taken during prime minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

During the visit, the joint High Level Task Force on investment (HLTF) also came to an understanding in multiple areas to rapidly promote investment flows, building on the commitment of Saudi Arabia to invest $100 billion in India in sectors including energy, petrochemicals, infrastructure, technology, fintech, digital infrastructure, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and health.

The plan to set up two refineries comes at a time when India is looking at ensuring energy security amid growing demand for petroleum and petrochemical products. Meanwhile, state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is working to set up a greenfield refinery in Andhra Pradesh.

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Modi and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince and prime minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia chaired the meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council (SPC) on 22 April 2025 in Jeddah, said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). 

The council reviewed the work of the various committees, subcommittees and working groups under the SPC, which encompass political, defence, security, trade, investment, energy, technology, agriculture, culture and people-to-people ties.

Amid deepening of defence partnership through joint exercises, training programmes, and collaboration in defence industry, the council decided to create a new Ministerial Committee on Defence Cooperation under the SPC, it said.

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"To strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties, which have significant momentum in recent years, the Council decided to create a new Ministerial Committee on Tourism and Cultural Cooperation under the SPC," the statement said.

With the creation of a new committee, the four committees under the India-Saudi Arabia SPC are: Political, Consular and Security Cooperation Committee, Defence Cooperation Committee, Economy, Energy, Investment and Technology Committee, and Tourism and Cultural Cooperation Committee.

During the visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Saudi Space Agency and the Department of Space of India on cooperation in the field of space activities for peaceful purposes. Two other MoUs were signed -- on cooperation in the field of health and in the field of anti-doping education and prevention.

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Another agreement between the Saudi Post Corporation and the department of posts, ministry of communications of India was signed on cooperation in inward surface parcel.

Modi cut short his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and returned on Wednesday morning following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday.