THUWAL: Indian Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed, who is specially deputed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to represent India at the inauguration of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), said here on Wednesday that his country took great pride in the giant strides Saudi Arabia was taking in scientific research.
“As a friend of the Arab world, we think that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is endowed with great vision and has the will and determination to carry out his plans,” Ahamed told Arab News on the sidelines of the KAUST inauguration.
“The creation of KAUST is one big proud moment for Saudis, and we Indians join them in celebrating this moment,” he said.
“KAUST will have collaboration with various Indian research institutions and this will augur well for the world scientific community.”
KAUST has already forged a tie-up with Mumbai’s prestigious Indian Institute of Technology.
Ahamed said Islam had contributed immensely to the world of knowledge with Muslim scientists playing a key role in propagating science to the rest of the world. “This university will rekindle the flame of knowledge in this part of the world. It requires great courage to execute a plan of such scale,” said the Indian minister.
He conveyed the greetings of his countrymen to the king and promised to help Saudi Arabia in every way to replicate the successful IT revolution of India.
“We now have a central university in each state, which is unique. In India, the stress is on education and it is because of this Indians are successful educationists everywhere in the world,” Ahamed added.
He said tomorrow’s world would be a knowledge-based economy and those who master the art of scientific research would stay ahead in the competition.
The results of this university will be evident in the coming years when researchers and scientists come out with solutions of various problems afflicting humanity, Ahamed said.
