NEW DELHI: Saudi companies are keen to collaborate with their Indian counterparts at the G20 India Agritech Summit, the head of the Kingdom’s delegation told Arab News on Monday, as she described the South Asian country as having the “greatest potential” to support startups.
The agritech summit, organized as a flagship event during India’s presidency of the group of 20 leading rich and developing nations, was held in New Delhi on Monday. It sought to foster discussions about technology innovations in agriculture and sustainable practices in the field.
A Saudi delegation led by Dr. Huda Alfardus, CEO of Riyadh-based HealthGena, included various companies working in aquaculture, artificial intelligence, blockchain and investment in agriculture.
“We selected a wide range of companies to come and represent the private sector in Saudi Arabia today at the summit and be able to exchange their roles and expertise with other delegates, as well as setting up collaborations and partnerships with global counterparts,” she told Arab News.
The Saudi delegation had spotted opportunities with Indian companies that would complement the work they were already doing, Alfardus said.
“I’m hoping that we can find complementary companies that would help the activities … in the field of agriculture in Saudi so that partnership can create success for all sides and help bring change between the two countries.
“The summit has already been very productive, startups already have identified partners in India to collaborate with and will continue that discussion when they return to Saudi Arabia,” she said.
India had the “knowledge, expertise and manpower” to support Saudi startups, she added.
Alfardus, who also took part in the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit in Delhi last month, said she had been seeing a lot of interest in Saudi Arabia through such events, which gave a platform for the Kingdom’s businesses to share their vision and accomplishments.
“I think a lot of countries, including India, are seeing Saudi Arabia as a land of opportunities,” she said.
“I think opportunities like that, where we come and speak about what we do, definitely ignites the curiosity in people to understand more of how they can work with Saudi Arabia.”
HealthGena itself signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian non-profit initiative Jagriti Yatra to hold a program in October for startups from G20 countries to brainstorm and share ideas during a two-week train journey across India.
Shashank Mani, founder of the event, said it would help to showcase the innovations being developed in the country.
“I believe that this will achieve the aim of having Saudi Arabia and its participants come close to Indians in our innovations, our startup ecosystems and also other international participants,” he told Arab News.
