I convey my greetings to all my fellow countrymen here in the Kingdom on occasion of the 65th Republic Day of India.

On this day, 64 years ago, India became a Republic and adopted a forward looking and resilient constitution which since its inception has been serving as the guiding light and source of inspiration for India’s legislators and law makers.

It enshrined the values and principles for which the founding fathers of India stood for, and acted as a protector of rights of all Indians.

In the 21st century, the tenets of our constitution are more relevant and pertinent than before.

It is due to the implementation of this document in letter and spirit that India today occupies a place of pride in the comity of nations.

India’s relations with the Kingdom predates its independence.

The peoples of Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula have been interacting with each other through trade and commerce dating back to several millennia, fulfilling each others’ necessities and requirements. The commonalities in our culture, tradition and language bear testimony to this historic relationship.

After India’s independence in 1947, the diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1948.

The two countries have been engaged at the highest levels since then.

In recent years, the visit of Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in 2006 was a landmark visit in the bilateral relations of the two countries.

The ‘Delhi Declaration’ signed in 2006 provided a vision and roadmap for bilateral cooperation.

The visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Riyadh in 2010 and the signing of ‘Riyadh Declaration’ elevated the relationship to an “era of strategic partnership” covering political, economic, security and defense areas.

Since then the two countries have made significant progress in each of these areas.

As I reflect on India-Saudi Arabia relations in the year 2013, I deem it as a landmark year for all Indian expatriates in the Kingdom.

I feel proud as I recall that 1.4 million Indian expatriates availed the concessions announced by the Saudi authorities during the grace period announced by King Abdullah allowing overstaying expatriates to correct their status.

More than 1,40,000 Indians left the Kingdom in an orderly manner without facing any penalties or ban on their return.

I express my gratitude to the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques His Majesty King Abdullah for humanitarian approach the Kingdom adopted while implementing the Nitaqat program.

I thank Saudi Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Labor for their extraordinary support and cooperation to the Indian community.

I would like to mention about the enduring partnership that the embassy forged with the members of Indian community who along with the staff of Indian community schools and media partners rendered valuable services to assist their fellow countrymen.

It was with the support of these volunteers that the Mission has been able to help the community to fully utilize the grace period within the stipulated time frame.

This exercise also brought to the fore the cherished Indian value of “unity in diversity” when all barriers of caste region, religion, and language were transcended to achieve the objective.

It also prove as to why Indians remain the most preferred community in Saudi Arabia.

India and Saudi Arabia have signed an ‘Agreement on Labour Cooperation for Domestic Service Workers Recruitment’ recently to streamline the process of recruitment, to protect the rights of both the employer and domestic service workers and to regulate the contractual relations between them.

We are expecting to have in place a Standard Employment Contract shortly that would inter alia specify minimum wage, working hours, paid holidays and dispute settlement mechanism.

It is in fact, the first step toward a Comprehensive Agreement on Labour Cooperation covering the entire spectrum of Indian workers in the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is India’s fourth largest trading partner with $43.7 billion of trade in 2012-13.

The figures in the current financial year are no less impressive so far with bilateral trade so far having crossed $25 billion from April-October 2013. The two sides have been exchanging business delegations to promote trade. The embassy is organizing sector specific events to highlight various investment opportunities in India and also act as a forum to share ideas and experiences.

I conclude by expressing my confidence that India and Saudi Arabia, under their wise leadership are on a progressive and forward looking path which not only reflects the collective will of the peoples of the two countries and benefits them but also augurs well for the peace, prosperity and development of the entire region and beyond.

Hamid Ali Rao,

India’s Ambassador to Saudi arabia