DAMMAM, 21 January — Indian journalists accompanying Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh visited the Eastern Province on Thursday and were deeply impressed by scale of development achieved by the Kingdom.
Journalists from national English language dailies, news agencies, TV networks, radio stations and magazines arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday evening to cover Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh's visit to the Kingdom. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh sponsored their trip to the Eastern Province. The team was led by Zikrur Rahman, First Secretary at the Indian mission in Riyadh.
The press delegation first visited Saudi Aramco Exhibit where they were briefed on the company's history and performance. Aramco also hosted a luncheon in their honor. Later, the team visited the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu and several industrial units in Jubail Industrial City. The pressmen also visited the Indian school in Jubail.
The team included Rashmi Saxena from The Week, Aunohita Mojumdar from The Times of India, Jyoti Malhotra from The Indian Express, H. Bula Devi from Statesman, Rajmohan from The Hindu and representatives from the vernacular press and television.
Early Friday the team returned to Dammam and visited the International Indian School to see the consular services extended by the embassy. Every weekend, an Indian consular team arrives in Dammam to offer its services to Indian workers in the region.
Unlike other days, consular services were better organized with several additional facilities for visitors this Friday. The team members were very polite to visitors.
The press delegation was later taken to the King Fahd Causeway which connects Saudi Arabia with neighboring Bahrain. "It is very impressive and could be called a scientific wonder," said Shakeel Ahmad, chief news editor of Press Trust of India. The team returned to Riyadh later in the afternoon.
