RIYADH, 5 November 2007 — A coordination committee, consisting of representatives from India and Saudi Arabia, will be set up to map out a strategy for promoting youth and cultural relations between the two countries.
It is the first time that both countries will be cooperating in the field of sports and youth affairs and marks a diversification of the expanding relations between them following the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to New Delhi in January last year.
Spelling out the outcome of his visit to the Kingdom, M.O.H.F. Shahjahan, minister of education and youth affairs from the south Indian city of Pondicherry, told a press conference that human resources development, medicine, engineering and IT were potential areas identified during the high-level talks he had with Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare at the GPYW headquarters on Saturday night.
India’s Ambassador M.O.H. Farook, Deputy Chief of Mission Rajeev Shahare, senior embassy officials, Suliman Al-Zwayhri, coordinator of youth activities at GPYW, and the 12 members of the delegation were among those present. Three of the delegates included students who are pursuing their doctorate in Arabic literature and Islamic studies from Jamia Millia, Delhi. The groundwork for this delegation’s visit was prepared earlier when India’s Minister of Panchayati Raj, Youth Affairs & Sports Mani Shankar Aiyar visited the Kingdom in February this year when it was decided that both countries would be exchanging youth delegations every year.
As a follow up, the first visit by the Saudi Youth delegation to India took place in July this year when they went sight-seeing in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Agra and Jaipur. The visit of the Indian youth delegation consisted mainly of students from educational institutions in different parts of India.
Rajeev Shahare said it would be a good idea if the Kingdom could showcase its culture by holding a road show in New Delhi. This would help create a better understanding between the peoples of the two countries. Asked about the outcome of the current visit, Shahjahan said both sides were in favor of setting up an exchange program, which would be implemented within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between them during King Abdullah’s visit to New Delhi last year.
The follow-up visit to Riyadh by Aiyar in February this year resulted in the forging of new ties when both Prince Sultan ibn Fahd and Minister Aiyer identified the scope of cooperation between the two countries.
