On the occasion of the 57th Republic Day of India, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all Indian nationals in Saudi Arabia.
India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoy traditional bonds of friendship, a shared history, many common traditions and enduring cultural ties. In the last couple of years our bilateral relations have reached new level of intensity and cooperation. There is a great reservoir of good will on both sides, based on our affinities and commonalties.
We are in the midst of a serious, constructive and purposeful dialogue process with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we can say with a measure of satisfaction that we are moving in the right direction. The last one year has witnessed positive developments which have brought us on to the threshold of a new phase in our bilateral relations.
The visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah as chief guest on our Republic Day celebrations is a high point in this recent upswing in Indo-Saudi relations and we in India attach great importance to this ongoing process of engagement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
There is enormous potential in our relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we are determined to enhance the areas of interaction as well as to build on the momentum already achieved. We attach immense importance to expanding bilateral economic and commercial cooperation. We need to jointly work toward tackling the common challenges of poverty and development in our region for the sake of the collective well being of our people.
India has emerged as one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world. We need to exploit our economic complementarities and build on the mutual enthusiasm of our business communities. It is imperative that we chart out a road map in order to give a solid economic foundation to our bilateral relationship. The opportunities are vast and exciting and must be seized. All we need is will and determination to move ahead in this direction.
Terrorism has indeed become a serious menace not just to our two countries but also to the entire world. Irrespective of what form terrorism takes or what factors motivate this or who resort to perpetrate violent acts against innocent people, terrorism has to be condemned without any reservations. India appreciates the initiative taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to convene an International Counterterrorism Conference in Riyadh in February 2005.
I hope that the coming months would witness more exchanges among our people and I believe that in the years to come, the bilateral relationship between our two countries will further consolidate to the mutual benefit of both our countries.
On this auspicious day, I applaud the Indian community for consistently upholding the best values of our nation and playing such a significant role in promoting our nation’s interests abroad.
I conclude by expressing my confidence in a bright future for India-Saudi Arabia relations and with the belief that India and Saudi Arabia can become engines of economic growth by expanding the areas of our cooperation and dialogue.
Jai Hind!
M.O.H. Farook
Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Riyadh
