Riyadh, March 1 (IANS) India will grow at the rate of 9 to 10 percent for the next 25 years, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Monday.

"Despite the economic slowdown, we hope to achieve a growth rate of 7.5 percent in the current financial year," the economist-turned-prime minister told the Majlis-ash-Shura, the Saudi parliament.

"In the next 25 years, we aspire to (having) growth rates of between 9 and 10 percent annually. This will enable us to lift millions of our people out of poverty so as to transform India into one of the largest economies of the world."

The speech was a highlight of his engagements on the last day of a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the first by an Indian prime minister since 1982.

Addressing the Majlis is a rare honour conferred by Saudi Arabia on foreign leaders.

Manmohan Singh said there was vast potential to deepen Saudi-India relations. "We seek Saudi investments in a range of sectors from infrastructure and manufacturing to the services and hospitality sector.

"Equally, Indian industry is ready to take advantage of the many opportunities that are opening up in the IT, banking, telecommunications and pharmaceutical and hydrocarbon sector in Saudi Arabia," he said.