India's Prime Miniter Narendra Modi, on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia, has invited Saudi businesses to invest in India’s defence, energy, railway, health and agriculture sectors.

Addressing a select group of Saudi and Indian business leaders on the last day of his visit, Modi said his government has opened up many sectors to foreign investment and India stands out as a ‘beacon of hope’ amidst global economic slowdown, a report in Indian Express website said.

Modi said India has taken major policy initiatives to create a favourable environment for investors, besides removing administrative bottlenecks.

Modi said that a common indirect taxation regime in the form of GST (Goods and Services Tax) was ‘about to happen’ in the country. He, however, refrained from giving any specific timeframe.

Prime Minister further said his government was trying to strengthen the banking network in India by freeing them from non-performing assets (NPAs) of state-run electricity companies whose liabilities had gone up significantly.

Promising easier business environment for global investors, Prime Minister Modi said retrospective taxation has been relegated to history, but he is "not able to do anything" on two pending cases from the previous government as "they are sub-judice".

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh; and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, were also present at the meeting.

An official welcoming ceremony was held in honour of the Indian Premier, where the two countries' national anthems were played before reviewing the guard of honour.

King Salman held a luncheon banquet in honour of Modi and the accompanying delegation.

Prime Minister Modi also met the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and a number of regional and international issues.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Economy and Planning Engineer Adel bin Mohammed Faqih.

Modi also received the Minister of Health and Saudi Aramco chariman Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh. They discussed ways of enhancing cooperation in the field of health between the two countries and reviewed Saudi oil supplies to India.