Askari, Chief Protocol Officer in Ministry of Foreign Affairs (5th left), and his wife pose with the group of Indian folklore dancers and Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad and Sunita M. Ahmad (5th right) at a function to mark India's 62nd Republic Day celebrations in Riyadh, Wednesday. (Courtesy photo by K.N. Wasif) SHAHID ALI KHAN RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and India are required to shift focus on ever-strengthening bilateral relations to include untapped areas such as technological transfer and exchange of experts between the two countries, Alauddin Al-Askari, Chief Protocol Officer in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has said. Al-Askari was the chief guest at the reception Wednesday hosted by the Indian Embassy as part of India's 62nd Republic Day celebration. Talking to reporters after the ceremony, Al-Askari said there has always been scope for further strengthening of relations between Saudi Arabia and India. “However, the two sides should focus on areas such as technological transfer and exchange of experts between the two countries,” he said. Al-Askari, who holds a deputy ministerial rank, described bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and India as excellent. “Saudi Arabia and India always signed treaties that covered whole range of areas including political, economic and cultural fields,” he said. He however, said there is always a room and way to get those better “and sky is the limit. We need a whole hour to talk about the areas that need to be explored for further boosting bilateral ties,” he added. Al-Askari said he would like to leave that subject for specialists in the field of technological cooperation, as he was not an expert to speak about industrial revolution. “The experts from both sides should explore possibilities in areas of technological cooperation,” he said. However, he said the two countries should further improve their relations in areas such as transfer of technology, exchange of experts in various fields of mutual interest and a little bit of everything, he said. The bilateral trade relations between Saudi Arabia and India have been increasing, he said referring to two-way trade that crossed SR100 billion mark. With that Saudi Arabia has become India's fourth largest trading partner. Besides, the Kingdom is the largest supplier of hydrocarbons to India, accounting for 20 percent of crude oil imports. There are around 500 Indian joint ventures in Saudi Arabia with an estimated investment of over $2 billion. Al-Askari praised the contribution of Indian workers to the Kingdom's economic development. “We are very proud to have Indians working with us in the economic development of the Kingdom. We thank them (Indian workers) very much for their high caliber of work in the ever-growing Saudi economy,” he said referring to over two million-strong Indian community in Saudi Arabia. Al-Askari admired diplomatic endeavors of Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad saying that the envoy has been serving the second term that took bilateral ties between the two countries to new highs. “We are always with the Ambassador Ahmad, who is now serving his second term. It also shows his (Ahmad) love for the Kingdom and desire to promote bilateral relations between the two countries,” he said.
