Saudi envoy to India, while speaking on the celebrations of the Kingdom’s founding day in New Delhi, said he was happy to have strong and friendly relationship between the two countries…reports Asian Lite News
Underlining the strong relationship between the Kingdom and India, Saleh Eid Al Husseini, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India said that he wants to bring this relationship to the highest level.
Speaking on the celebrations of the Kingdom’s founding day in New Delhi, the envoy said he was happy to have strong and friendly relationship between the two countries.
“We are very happy to have a strong relationship with our friendly country India. Also for a long time, we have had this relationship and we have been asked to bring this relationship to the highest level that we can”, said Husseini.
While speaking on the foundation day celebration, the envoy highlighted the Kingdom’s governance and how the youth has been its focus as the next generation.
“We are very proud to have a country that started in 1727 and this year as I said reflects good governance and we hold our future, our children and all our Saudi Arabia is now focussing on youth on the next generation”, said the Envoy.
“Our country is celebrating around 300 years and this reflects nations’ governance, reflects equity, to have the prosperity of their people. To bring modernization and at the same time to regain the culture of the society. It’s not by chance to be 300 years old unless the state is caring about its neighbours, caring about its people, seeking peace all over the world”, added the envoy.
The history of the Kingdom’s “Founding Day” goes back three centuries ago when the first Saudi state was established in 1727 during the leadership of Imam Muhammad bin Saud.
Energy ties
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that Kingdom has many plans in the energy sector in close coordination with India and these will come to light soon.
The Minister made the statement on the sidelines of the two-day 2nd edition of the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh with over 1,500 media professionals and industry leaders from Arab and foreign countries joining to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the media industry.
“We have so many plans in the energy sector with India and we will see it very soon,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said when asked about Saudi Arabia’s plan in the energy sector with India.
Prince Salman’s statement came four months after he visited India, and met top Indian officials as the Kingdom strengthens its energy ties with the second-largest Asian economy.
The energy minister, who visited the New Delhi for a day in October last year, held talks with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh, Electricity Minister Raj Kumar Singh, and several Indian business leaders.
There are talks that the Gujarat coast in India could soon link up to the Middle East with deep sea cables, creating a renewable energy grid as Saudi Arabia and India expand their energy ties.
Earlier in September, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to India Saleh bin Eid Al-Hussaini vowed to boost and strengthen relations between Riyadh and New Delhi during his tenure.
Al-Hussaini had said that the move would help in accelerating the growth of the mutual and beneficial partnership between India and Saudi Arabia and strengthen the friendly bond between the people of our countries.
The partnership between Saudi Arabia and India reached new heights when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited New Delhi in February 2019. In October 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Kingdom, which resulted in the two nations establishing the Strategic Partnership Council.
In September, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that India and Saudi Arabia are important players in the emerging multipolar world order, and there are several areas in which both countries are working together.
He had also said that India and Saudi Arabia are major economies and play an important role in shaping the global economy.
India and Saudi Arabia are substantial economic partners, with trade being valued at approximately $42.86 billion during the fiscal year (April 2021 to March 2022), the Minister had said.
Energy plays a crucial role in the trade ties between India and Saudi Arabia as New Delhi imports about 18 and 22 per cent of its crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas demands, respectively, from the Kingdom.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and India have been historically strong for several decades. Indians constitute the largest community of foreign workers in the Kingdom and one of their home country’s biggest sources of inward remittances.
Saudi Arabia’s trade relationship with India was majorly confined to energy in the initial years, but now, both nations have widened their ties into other fields, including security, investment, health, food security, and culture. (ANI)
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