Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today visited the all-women centre of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, in Riyadh.

Modi is currently on a two-day bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss key regional and bilateral issues including trade.

The Prime Minister was welcomed by Tata group chairman Cyrus Mistry and the TCS CEO and managing director N Chandrasekaran amidst thunderous applause and cheering from the assembled more than 1,000 women professionals at the centre.

TCS and GE founded the TCS All-Women Centre as a pioneering initiative in 2013 with 76 per cent and 24 per cent equity in the new venture, respectively.

The centre recently celebrated its second anniversary as well as the milestone of hiring 1,000 highly skilled women. The work force consists of 85 per cent Saudi women professionals who provide business process and IT services to global clients.

The centre provides specialised finance and accounting, human resources, materials supply and IT services.

The centre, which provides career opportunities for women in the region, has become a rich training ground for building new capabilities and careers for women in the country.

Established to initially serve Saudi Aramco and GE as anchor clients, the TCS All Women Centre now has expanded to serve other institutions in the kingdom and global clients.

Modi said: "It was wonderful interacting with all these talented women IT professionals who represent the glory of Saudi Arabia. The energetic atmosphere that I witnessed here today sends a strong message to the rest of the world. I congratulate TCS for their efforts in training talent in India and globally and making tomorrow's professionals equipped for the digital world."

"It was an honour to host the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi at our Riyadh centre, where he had an occasion to visit this unique facility and interact with our employees. The two countries have always enjoyed a strong partnership and we are happy to promote economic and business ties further through innovation and human talent development in Saudia Arabia," said Chandrasekaran.

The centre also works with leading Saudi universities and educational institutes to build specialised training programmes which help drive job creation and employment opportunities for women in the kingdom. -TradeArabia News Service