THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, 20 February 2007 — Diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and India are at their best now and New Delhi is “busy preparing a road map for cooperation at the civil society level,” according to India’s junior Foreign Minister E. Ahamed.
During the recent visit of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India it was decided that the traditional friendship and cooperation between the people of the two countries should be intensified.
“So, it was decided to have better people-to-people relations,” the minister told reporters in Kozhikode.
The federal government has appointed Abhang, a former secretary in the External Affairs Ministry now working with the Jamia Milia Islamia in New Delhi, to prepare the road map.
On the road map are exchange programs for writers, intellectuals, literary figures, artists and others from the cultural field of both countries. To begin with, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) would send delegations to Saudi Arabia.
“A lot of exchanges are being carried out between the two countries in trade and commerce and such activities are gaining momentum. Businessmen from both countries would set up industries and business units,” Ahamed said.
Speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) Somnath Chatterjee had led a high-level parliamentary delegation to the Kingdom early this month. He held discussions at various levels during his five-day visit. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is looking forward to visiting Saudi Arabia in May.
