Kochhar & Co has entered into two best-friend alliances with law firms in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the firm said in a press release.

Kochhar & Co had signed "collaboration agreements" with the law firm of Dr. Khalid Alnowaiser in Saudi Arabia and MIO Lawyers & Legal Consultants in the UAE, said Kochhar & Co in a press release.

The tie-ups follow the firm's managing partner and chairman Rohit Kochhar travelling to the Middle East late last year with the intention of creating "joint ventures" with local firms, as reported by Legally India in September 2009.

The Law Firm of Dr Khalid Alnowaiser is headed by sole partner Khalid Alnowaiser, who specialises in litigation, with around nine other mid-to-senior level lawyers leading the work on corporate, commercial and disputes work, according to its website.

MIO or Mohammad Issa Odeh Law Firm was founded in 1985 and is a commercial corporate and litigation law firm with offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It employs 40 staff, according to its website, with senior partner Mohammed Issa being the sole proprietor and 11 other mid-to-senior level legal consultants and lawyers also being listed on to its website.

Kochhar & Co's press release states that the three firms would operate as a "consortium" and collaborate on providing support to investors and companies starting businesses and encountering disputes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Rohit Kochhar said in the statement that "with a rapid rise in investments from the Middle East into India, Saudi and UAE companies would now benefit from a reliable and high quality legal support at both ends of the business transactions".

Sources at MIO and The Law firm of Dr Khalid Alnowaiser were unavailable for further comment.

Rohit Kochhar was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

In January 2010 UAE law firm Musthafa & Almana announced that it was starting up to four offices in Kerala and South India.

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