JEDDAH, 8 September — Prince Abdullah, the regent, held wide-ranging talks here yesterday with Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) Chairperson Dr. Najma Heptullah who is in the Kingdom primarily to observe how the Kingdom’s Shoura Council functions before considering it for IPU membership.
The talks, attended by Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, covered Saudi-Indian cooperation, the tense Indo-Pakistan situation and growing violence in South Asia, sources said. Prince Abdullah showed concern about the standoff between India and Pakistan and called for a peaceful dialogue to defuse tension. Heptullah is a prominent Indian politician and deputy chairperson of India’s upper house of Parliament.
The sources said Prince Abdullah also deplored the specter of violence and terrorism in South Asia. Heptullah affirmed India’s commitment to peace and dialogue to bring about a rapprochement between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Both Prince Abdullah and Heptullah slammed Israel’s continuing atrocities against Palestinians. They also opposed any armed US strike on Iraq.
They noted that Saudi-India relations were on the upswing in the recent past and agreed that intensified dialogue was needed to bolster cooperation in different fields.
Saudi Arabia formally applied for IPU membership during the last IPU session held in Marrakech in March. IPU consists of over 140 parliaments of the world. Heptullah and an IPU delegation are scheduled to hold talks with Shoura Council members and attend one of its sessions. According to sources, the delegates are due to arrive in Riyadh today.
Besides Prince Sultan, Heptullah’s meeting with Prince Abdullah was attended by Prince Bandar ibn Salman, Adviser at Prince Abdullah’s Court, Shoura Council member Ahmad Al-Turki and Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom Talmiz Ahmad.
The Kingdom is home to an estimated 1.5 million Indians who remit home approximately $4 billion every year.
