Piyush Goyal to Chair first Ministerial Meeting of Economic, Investments Committee in Saudi Arabia

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news

The Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be on a 2-day (18-19 September 2022) visit to Saudi Arabia to co-chair the inaugural Ministerial Meeting of the Economic and Investments Committee with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman.

Piyush Goel will also  discuss with the Saudi minister’s ,on ways to speed up the proposed $100 billion investment in India announced by the  Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman during his visit to India in February 2019.

The revival of the West Coast Refinery Project in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra is also expected to be on top of the agenda between the two ministers.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

West Coast Refinery project :

• The 60 million tonnes per annum refinery was announced in 2015. The refinery will be set up jointly by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.(IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) , Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and world’s largest oil companies  Aramco of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates  company Adnoc.
• Aramco and Adnoc hold 50% stake in the project, while IOC has a 25% stake. The remaining 25% is split equally between BPCL and HPCL.
• The project was announced in 2015 but the project had to be stopped after opposition from the local population and the environmental groups.