NEW DELHI, 27 October 2003 — President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s first foreign tour since he came into office also stands out as the first visit of an Indian president to the UAE and Sudan in 26 years and is a further sign that India is determined to strengthen ties with the Middle East.
At the conclusion of a week-long visit which also took him to Bulgaria, Kalam expressed happiness over the goodwill he encountered and the prospects of stronger Indian ties with these nations. “In all three countries that I visited, there is goodwill for Indians, and the intensity of the goodwill has increased because of the world situation... Our success should be such that it creates a win-win situation wherever our people go.”
In the UAE, Kalam highlighted the success of the pharmaceutical company Neopharma, one of the largest run by an Indian.
Recalling his Sudan visit, Kalam said that the country had “tremendous potential” for India and India’s ONGC-Videsh, had already bagged a number of contracts in Sudan. Sudan was interested in Indian assistance in infrastructure development, he added.
Press Secretary to the President S.M. Khan told Arab News the president’s visit had been “successful” and “action-oriented.”
“It was a successful tour during which a lot of goodwill has been generated,” Khan said.
Apart from investment prospects in Sudan’s oil industry for Indian businessmen, Khan said India and Sudan agreed on the situation in Palestine. He said an essential point of a joint Indo-Sudan declaration during Kalam’s visit was a call for an end to “Israeli occupation of Palestinian state and establishment of an independent state of Palestine.”
India has invested $750 million, the largest investment abroad, in an oil-producing bloc in Sudan. In the near future, sources said, India is planning to invest nearly $1 billion by buying a 25 percent stake now held by Austrians.
India and the UAE are looking at the possibility of establishing a cyber city with offices in both nations, Khan said.
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia and India have stressed the business opportunities available in both the nations to enhance their economic and industrial cooperation. A Saudi business delegation recently concluded a visit to India on a positive note.
The Saudi business delegation was headed by Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, the chairman of the Council of Saudi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and chairman of Jeraisy Group of Companies. Jeraisy told Arab News he had high hopes of economic ties between the two nations. He said: “We want the volume of trade between the two countries to double. If Saudi Arabia and China can double their volume of trade in 10 years, so can Saudi Arabia and India.”
