The Gujarat coast would soon link up to the Middle East with deep sea cables for making a renewable energy grid as India and Saudi Arabia explore a cross-country project borne on a new era of energy diplomacy, it reported.

This will be part of the conversation agenda when Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman visits New Delhi on a day-long trip on Friday to fix the ground for Saudi Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s trip to India next month. Captivating the conversation beyond oil exports, both sides are likely to initiate debates on an undersea cable for an electricity grid linking South Asia and the Gulf countries, media reports. The two are discovering the commercial viability of such a project.

The Saudi ambassador to India has already prolonged invitations to leading multinationals such as the Tata Group, Reliance Industries Ltd, JSW, Sterlite Power, and Adani, among others, for their reviews. India will be the first halt for the crown prince on a trip that takes him to Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan.

The oil-rich Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, are looking to diversify energy requirements to fire their power plants. The kingdom’s electricity is produced from natural gas (52%), oil (40%), and steam (8%). But an impending energy shortage needs Saudi Arabia to increase its 55 GW capacity to 120 GW by 2032. The project attained major project prestige this week from the Australian Federal Government, which will help to smooth the sanction process for the $22 billion Australian-Asian Power Link by high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology.