New Delhi, Jan 17 (IANS) Saudi Arbaia will provide all support to India's business community to forge closer partnership in trade and investment between the two countries, Saudi Commerce and Industry Minister Hashim Bin Abdullah bin Hashim Al-Yamani said here Wednesday.

"This is a great time for forging a true partnership between the two countries and our government will provide the business community all kind of support for this," Al-Yamani told the second meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Business Council.

"The relationship between the two countries is improving. There is a need to improve trade and investment flow by innovative initiatives," he said.

India and Saudi Arabia have had strong, historic ties in the past and they would certainly be continued, spearheaded by this joint business council, he added.

"India is renewing itself and becoming a model for others in the world. It is a good omen for Saudi-India business relationship," the Saudi minister said.

Addressing the meeting, Habil Khorakiwala, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said he saw future in collaborations with Saudi Arabia in education, health, processed plant equipment, petrochemicals, fertilisers, infrastructure, construction, machine tools, auto components and pharmaceuticals among other sectors.

He emphasised that India was now on a path to be among leaders in manufacturing and urged Saudi Arabia to leverage this growing opportunity.

"India is rapidly scripting its place in the global arena. It is already acclaimed as the second best destination for investment in the world by AT Kearney. We foresee India as not just a leader in IT; India will also have a broad bandwidth, cutting across the knowledge spectrum - biotechnology, nanotechnology, animation, gaming, chip designing and new molecular discoveries," Khorakiwala said.