Jeddah, September 12: The joint effort of India and Saudi Arabia upholds the commitment to shared development, prosperity, reliability, security and advancement, Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said. He underscored the importance of the key relationship between India and Saudi Arabia when the world is at an intersection, he tweeted.
In one of the unusual moves to visit unknown high-ranking ambassadors, Dr. Jaishankar met Saudi representatives at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies in Riyadh on Sunday.
The Indian cleric was received by Dr. Adel Al Amrani, the organization’s supervisor and Saudi Arabian ambassador to India, Dr. Saud Al Sati and other high-level authorities.
The meeting was led by Dr. Ali Al Qarni, head of the Center for Asian Studies. The previous Saturday, the pastor met with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a strong local bloc of gateway countries, Secretary General Dr. Nayef Falah Al Hajraf and signed an MoU.
Dr. Jaishankar also ministered to the Indian community when he appeared in the Saudi capital, reflecting the responsibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government towards the diaspora. The Minister said that Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf nations are India’s ocean neighbors and have genuine relations.
He let the audience know that there was a gap in cultivating relations with these countries from the Indian side in the past, which has been mended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by really focusing on numerous visits to some major countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In response to a query, Dr. Jaishankar expressed that there is an increase of almost 60% in the restoration of passports in the country, as many people did not restore their visas during the period of Covid-19. He underlined that the number of applicants in general increased, but not the strength of staff in workplaces.
He acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s help regarding oxygen supply during the pandemic. Dr. Jaishankar said that yoga has become global and limited by the requirements of different countries on the planet, including Saudi Arabia.
The Indo-Saudi relationship matters when the world is at a crossroads: Jaishankar in Saudi Arabia https://t.co/RMRaZvq5EW
— Ajitweekly (@Ajitweekly1) September 12, 2022
The priest praised the Indian diaspora amounting to around Rs 25 lakhs in Saudi Arabia for their approach and thus for creating the image of the country brand.