India’s Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad and Consul General Sayeed Ahmed Baba unfurled the national flag and read out President Pratibha Devisingh Patil’s message in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively.

The ambassador urged the community to continue to participate in India’s progress by working hard in the country they reside and also by promoting friendship with the people they interact with. “Contributions can be in the form of resources that can be made available abroad, education that can promote employment opportunities and the values that articulate through our personality,” he said.

He added that the bilateral ties have become stronger than ever. “We have age-old relations with the Kingdom and our eyes are fixed on the future. The past guides us to the future and we have to chart out our own destiny for the future based on the experiences of the past, keeping in view the challenges facing us today. The track record shows that our highest leadership is strongly committed to further strengthen our long-term partnership.”

The ambassador reminded the community that they are No. 1 not only in numbers, but also in terms of the respect earned from Saudis.

“They (Saudis) turn to us whenever they need quality and skills,” he said, adding that with the Kingdom planning new economic cities and many other development projects, India will continue to play a dominant role and be its backbone.

India today is an economic power and the world recognizes that the Indian route to economic progress has been a more stable and sustainable one, the consul general said. The steady acceleration to 5.5 percent growth from 1980 to 2000 and to nearly nine percent since 2004 has shown the world that India is an economic power. Despite many changes in government with different political parties wielding power in Delhi and in the states, there has been no reversal of the process of the economic reform and liberalization in the past 19 years.

“Successive governments have taken forward the process and the Indian economy is today more globally integrated than ever before,” he added.

Ever since the historical visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in January 2006, both India and Saudi Arabia have been working toward upgrading the bilateral relations at political, economic and people-to-people levels. “The visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom in February 2010 has heralded a new era in Saudi-India relations,” Baba said.

Indo-Saudi economic relations have also shown remarkable growth with the bilateral trade registering three-fold increase in the last five years. India is the fourth largest trade partner of Saudi Arabia and the bilateral trade was $25 billion in 2008-09. Energy cooperation is an important aspect of bilateral economic ties and both sides are working toward the strategic energy partnership, he said.

The community in the Kingdom has played a pivotal role for enhancing the image of their country. The Indian diaspora here has emerged as a vibrant and dynamic section of society. “They have earned extraordinary love, warmth and dignity in the hearts of our Saudi brothers and sisters by their sense of dedication, discipline and quality of output at work places. I take this opportunity to acknowledge their contribution and to look forward to such positive initiatives from different sections of the Indian community for the general good of all,” Baba said.

Children of International Indian School-Jeddah presented patriotic songs.

In the Eastern Province, International Indian School-Dammam Chairman John Thomas hoisted the national flag. He exhorted the community to live up to the good name that Indians have earned in Saudi Arabia. “Through their hard work, Indians have carved a niche for themselves here in Saudi Arabia,” he said at the event.

Community members were present in large numbers at all three events.

— M. Rasooldeen, K.S. Ramkumar and Siraj Wahab contributed to the report.