|
 |
|
Hundreds
of Saudi and Indian flags flutter on the streets of Riyadh to
welcome Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
(Photo:
Ahmed Fathi/Arab News) |
|
|
Malegaon:
Hundreds of Saudi and Indian flags have decorated the streets of
Riyadh since Tuesday to welcome Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, reports the leading Saudi daily Arab News.
Dr. Manmohan Singh
will begin his three-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia on Saturday.
According to the report, senior Saudi and Indian government
officials are busy in making elaborate arrangements to host the
Indian political and business establishments as well as fine-tuning
several draft accords to be signed during the visit, the first by an
Indian premier since 1982.
“The
visit of Prime Minister Singh, which takes place four years after
the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to New
Delhi, will boost Saudi-Indo relations further and change the
dynamics of our strategic ties,” Arab News quoted Saudi
Ambassador to India Faisal H. Trad.
Trad,
who is in Saudi capital Riyadh to prepare for Dr. Manmohan Singh’s
visit, said that some 11 agreements had been finalized for signing
during the visit of the Indian premier, who will be accompanied by
ministers and officials.
“History will be made in Saudi-Indo relations when Singh holds talks
with King Abdullah,” said Ambassador Trad.
Referring to major agreements to be signed during the visit, Trad
pointed out that an agreement to promote media cooperation involving
the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and the Press Trust of India (PTI)
would also be signed.
This
will be in addition to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to be
signed by the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) and
India’s Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses.
Another MOU will be signed to promote cultural cooperation by
organizing cultural weeks and events in respective countries.
Asked about any other accord that is being drafted for signature
during Singh’s visit, Ambassador Trad said that other agreements
such as an extradition treaty and an agreement to facilitate the
transfer of sentenced prisoners had been reported in the Saudi and
Indian media.
The
visit, he said, will also boost cooperation in education, economy
and the manpower sectors.
“The
Saudi mission in New Delhi alone issues 600,000 visas every year to
Indian nationals for visits and employment. I am not including Haj
visas which amount to another 170,000,” said Trad.
“There are 365 recruitment agencies listed with our embassy in New
Delhi, besides 400 in Mumbai,” he said.
On
the trade front, he said that there was barely any crude import by
India from Saudi Arabia before 2006. India used to import oil from
the UAE, but now Saudi Arabia has edged past the UAE to become the
biggest supplier of crude to India, he noted.
Some
500,000-600,000 barrels of crude a day are exported from Saudi
Arabia to India, he added. He pointed out that Indian manufacturers
and suppliers could now be big winners, since a Saudi Aramco
procurement subsidiary had also opened an office in India.
“This will make it easier for Indian manufacturers to provide
materials and equipment to Saudi Aramco for use in its industrial
facilities and massive construction projects,” he said. Thus it will
boost Indian exports to Saudi Arabia in a big way, he added.
Meanwhile, a
media office has been set up by the Indian Embassy at the Riyadh
Palace Hotel to help local journalists and take care of the needs of
the newspersons accompanying the premier.
|
Muslim appeasement is a myth: Prof. Oommen: 
Government committed to overhaul
education infrastructure: Patil: 
'Inter-faith dialogue necessary amidst clash of civilisation debate': 
Bureaucrats in Gujarat working like BJP workers, says Ahmad Patel: 
Comment on this article