Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai; Head of the Protocol Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Region, Mohammed Nabeel Bukhari; and Asian Consuls General posing together during the cutting cake ceremony. — SG photos by Roberta Fedele Roberta Fedele Saudi Gazette JEDDAH –– The 64th Anniversary of the Republic Day of India, honoring the date on which the Constitution of India came into force, was celebrated at Park Hyatt on January 26th during an official function comprising a music performance and colorful traditional dances. In January 1950 India became a Republic and a new Constitution came into effect under which India was established as a secular and a democratic State. On this important occasion, Chief Guest and Director of the Protocol Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Al Mukarramah Region Branch, Nabeel Bukhairi extended his felicitations to the government and people of India highlighting the country's important historical heritage. “India occupies today a place of great significance within the international community thanks to its incredible human resources, fast growing economy, wise leadership and, last but not least, great and old civilization,” said Bukhairi. Consul General of India Faiz Ahmad Kidwai expressed his appreciation on behalf of the Indian government for a very successful and incident-free Haj 2012 and decided to focus his intervention on the significant reinforcement of the economic, cultural and political ties between India and Saudi Arabia that took place in the last decade thanks to a number of high-level visits. Kidwai said: “India and Saudi Arabia enjoy since centuries deep rooted relations based on mutual benefit and common understanding. Bilateral ties have been further fortified after the landmark visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to India in 2006 and the subsequent visit of our Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in 2010. “Singing of the Delhi and Riyadh Declarations during these two visits has begun a new era of strategic partnership between the two countries in security, defense, political and economic relations,” he added. Kidwai particularly stressed the warm and vibrant trade relations between India and Saudi Arabia that witnessed a 47 percent increase between 2010 and 2011 growing from $25.06 billion to $36.74 billion. He said: “Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest trading partner for India and fulfills almost 1/4th of our crude oil requirements. During the past year, a number of events to promote bilateral trade were held in both countries and a Saudi delegation was able to visit several Indian cities under the banner of the Saudi-India Business Network.” Kidwai also took the opportunity to highlight significant cooperation on the cultural front. He said: “A Saudi Youth Forum comprising 40 young Saudis took place in India on March 2012 and was followed by the arrival of a 13-member Saudi delegation to India headed by Princess Adila Bint Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Chairperson of the National Museum Advisory Committee and Saudi Society for Preservation of Heritage. In addition, an Indian Cultural Week was held in Riyadh in November 2012.” With more than 2 million Indian residents who work in the Kingdom, the Indian expatriate community is the largest in Saudi Arabia and Kidwai could not but highlight these people's important contribution to the development of the country. He said: “Our consular wing issued about 75,000 passports and 15,000 visas during the last year. Indian residents are not only playing an important role in the Kingdom's development but are also winning trust and respect from the Saudi society through their sheer dedication, discipline and quality of output.”
