RIYADH, 16 May 2005 — India renewed its pledge to render all support to the Middle East peace process and to the cause of Palestine, as Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, on a visit here, said “New Delhi will sustain this commitment, while it continues to give unwavering support to Palestine as per the policy of the new Indian government.”
Ahamed was speaking to Indian expatriates during a reception hosted by the Indian Embassy here. Indian Ambassador M. O. H. Farook was also present. The minister, during his visit, will sign a Haj agreement in Jeddah on May 17. The annual Haj accord will define specifics of the overall Haj arrangements made for the Indian pilgrims.
Ahamed said, “The UPA government, led by Dr. Manmohan Singh, has renewed India’s pledge to support Palestine.”
Referring to the three high-profile visits by Indian ministers to Saudi Arabia this year, he said “We look forward to forging strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.”
He said that the relations between Riyadh and New Delhi are growing progressively. On the commercial front, the two-way trade exceeds $6.6 billion annually, said the minister. The Kingdom is also one of the largest markets for India and is the source of 7.2 percent of India’s total imports.
Referring to the demands made by Ambassador Farook, he said,“I, together with other officials of the ministry, will look into the problems faced by the Indian missions in Saudi Arabia.”
When asked about the need to open a consulate in Dammam and the need to create more diplomatic and non-diplomatic positions in the embassy to cope with the workload, Ahamed said, “There are some 165 Indian missions around the world and it will be difficult to ensure more funds and more staff for most of them”.
He, however, said, “Indian missions in Saudi Arabia deserve more attention from the government because this country is home for over 1.5 million Indian workers.”
A 24-hour call service to help distressed workers was launched recently by the embassy and the consulate, he said.
