RIYADH, 1 April 2005 — Setting up an Indian diplomatic mission in Dammam and expanding the embassy with more staff to deal with labor problems were key issues discussed at a reception hosted by the Indian Embassy here on Wednesday night in honor of Mani Shankar Aiyar, Indian minister of petroleum and natural gas.
Aiyar, who ended his four-day visit to Saudi Arabia yesterday, said he would strive to realize the Indian community’s demands. He would also seek more funds and personnel from the Ministry of External Affairs to cater for this understaffed mission to serve the community in a better way.”
Aiyar was responding to the demands first made by Indian Ambassador M. O. H. Farook and later by some members of the community during informal discussions.
Aiyar said that “if you compare the number of diplomatic missions in the United States, which is the second largest home for non-resident Indians, you can see that there is a strong case for us to have more diplomatic posts at different locations in Saudi Arabia”. In the US alone, there are some five diplomatic missions including the embassy. He said that the role of Indian mission in Saudi Arabia has undergone a major change from merely a facilitator of Haj pilgrimage to a larger endeavor with increasing loads of work. There are presently more than 1.5 million Indian expatriates in the Kingdom.
On another demand about setting up a welfare fund, he endorsed the views of Farook, who sought financial support from the Indian government. He, however, said that “I also feel that the prosperous elite of the Indian community ought to make small contributions so as to be able to have some funds to look after the needs of aggrieved Indians. I am making this a supplementary proposal and I think the Indian community should also look after some of their less fortunate countrymen”, Aiyar said.
Referring to his talks with Crown Prince Abdullah, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Aiyar pointed out that “the two countries share identical views on the whole range of bilateral, regional and international issues including Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Iran”.
On the commercial front, the two countries have set up 67 joint ventures, he said.
The ongoing negotiations for long-term oil contracts will further lead to more joint venture projects, he said. In a bilateral deal, Saudi Aramco and Indian’s Hindustan Petroleum Company Limited (HPCL) are likely to pick up stake in each other’s refineries, he noted. While Saudi Aramco is expected to acquire stake in HPCL’s Vishakapatnam refinery in India, HPCL in turn is likely to buy equity in the planned Yanbu refinery. The two sides have reached an in-principle agreement for HPCL taking stake in Yanbu refinery that is planned for export of petroleum products to the West.
“I am leaving behind (in Saudi Arabia) HPCL director M.B. Lal and IOC director N.K. Nayyar for negotiating commercial terms for the criss-crossing equity arrangement,” Aiyar said.
