I convey my greetings to all my fellow countrymen here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 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 lawmakers. 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 of Saudi Arabia predates its independence. The peoples of Indian subcontinent and 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 the 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 Dr. 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 here in 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.Over 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 King Abdullah for the 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 proves as to why Indians remain the most preferred community in Saudi Arabia.
India and Saudi Arabia have signed an ‘Agreement on Labor Cooperation for Domestic Service Workers Recruitment’ early this month 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 towards a Comprehensive Agreement on Labor Cooperation covering the entire spectrum of Indian workers in the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is India’s 4th 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. Indian companies have been awarded major projects in the Kingdom in 2013. Saudi petrochemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) recently established R&D center in Bengaluru with an investment of over $100 million. In coming months we will witness further efforts and exchanges to strengthen our economic and commercial relationship which forms intrinsic part of strategic partnership.
The two countries have also established institutionalized mechanism of cooperation including Joint Commission Meeting, Saudi India Business Council, India-GCC Industrial Conference, etc. The embassy has launched Saudi India Business Network (SIBN) to facilitate trade and investment. It is also 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
Ambassador of India
