Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has said that it backs Saudi Aramco chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan’s appointment as an independent director on the company’s board, Forbes reported on Wednesday.

Although some of the oil-to-retail conglomerate’s shareholders decided to vote against the decision, Ambani, the founder of Reliance and the richest man in Asia, was all for it.

“We look forward to welcoming Saudi Aramco as a strategic partner in our O2C business,” Ambani said during Reliance’s annual general meeting, according to Forbes.

“I expect our partnership to be formalized in an expeditious manner during this year, after obtaining required regulatory clearances,” he added.

Reliance outlined that “based on the recommendation of the Human Resources, Nomination and Renumeration Committee and pursuant to the provisions of Section 161 (1) of the Companies Act,” that it supported al-Rumayyan’s appointment.

The company added that the appointment had no relation to Aramco’s acquisition of a 20 percent stake in its oil-to-chemicals business, adding that the

Saudi oil company will be part of a process relating to a deal to spin off its oil-to-chemicals business into a separate unit. Reliance also mentioned that that new unit may include some nominees from Aramco on its board.

“H.E. Yasir Al Rummayyan is an accomplished global business leader. H.E. is the Non-Executive Chairman of Saudi Aramco (SA). H. E. ‘s experience encompasses over 25 years working in some of Saudi Arabia’s prominent financial institutions, including as the Governor of the Public Investment Fund of

Saudi Arabia. His experience encompasses international business and governance experience, expertise in finance, global energy industry and insights on emerging technology-led business models. This will help strengthen the Board’s diversity and skill-sets and benefit Reliance through the transition from oil to chemicals and the aim to achieve Net Carbon Zero by 2035,” said Reliance in a statement.