JEDDAH, 3 April 2006 — Dr. Majid-Uddin Kazi, the noted Saudi cardiologist of Indian origin, said Indians were the best service providers throughout the world.

“Whether it is electrician Jawwad or carpenter Manohar, Indians have through the dint of their hard work earned a name for themselves,” he told a well-attended function organized in his honor over the weekend by the Jeddah-based India Forum.

“The high-rises that dot the Gulf landscape are a result of their sweat and blood. Indians are in science, in technology, in management, in administration... They are everywhere earning a decent living for themselves and in turn helping their hosts to improve the quality of life,” Dr. Kazi said.

Ausaf Sayeed, the Indian consul general, said it was a big honor for Indians since, “Dr. Kazi is without a doubt the highest-ranking person of Indian origin in Saudi Arabia.”

Dr. Kazi is the first recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from the Gulf region.

The consul general said persons of Indian origin such as Dr. Kazi have raised the profile of the country through their outstanding achievements. He listed a number of high-profile Indians in the UK and the US, such as the noted economist Amartya Sen, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and novelist Jhumpa Lahiri.

“They have done India an honor by their achievements,” the consul general said.

The consul general recalled his recent meetings with the governors of Jeddah and Najran. “They all acknowledged the good work being carried out by the Indian expat community in Saudi Arabia,” Sayeed said.

Dr. Kazi was appointed personal physician to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia in 1977 and a decade later was promoted to the rank of a Cabinet minister when he became the personal physician to King Fahd and chief of Royal Clinics. He is still an adviser in the Royal Court having been reappointed last year to the ministerial-ranked position for four more years.

Dr. Osman Abdul Qader, an old friend of Dr. Kazi, recalled the good old days and enlightened the Indian community with some interesting anecdotes.

Dr. Kazi hails from Aurangabad in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. But his early childhood and primary education were in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh. He did his M.B.B.S. from Osmania Medical College. He is the brother of the late Kazi Saleem who wrote path-breaking poems in Urdu.

Dr. Abid Moiz, president of the Riyadh-based Indian Doctors Forum, did an excellent presentation on the life and career of Dr. Kazi with the help of some rare photographs. Dr. Moiz also read out a humorous piece that he penned, based on his journey to Hyderabad with Dr. Kazi to receive the PBDS Award in January this year.

Earlier, Dr. Suhel Ejaz Khan, director of India Forum and head of chancery, welcomed the guests and said it was always an honor “to recognize the achievements of one of our own countrymen.”