Remarks by Minister of State Shri E. Ahamed at the India-Saudi Arabia Youth Forum

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Your Excellency Dr. Yousef Terad Al Saadon,
Excellency the Ambassador of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Excellency Dr. Adnan Mohammad Al Wazzan,
Distinguished members of the Saudi Youth Delegation,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me immense pleasure to welcome all of you in New Delhi.

I congratulate the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs for this excellent initiative to establish India-Saudi Arabia Youth Forum to enable the youth to learn from each others' cultures and further strengthen our friendly relations.

I hope that you have enjoyed your stay in India and you have had an opportunity to explore India and interact with its people and get a flavor of our culture and its diversity.

India and Saudi Arabia enjoy a unique relationship shaped by a common economic and socio-cultural history, extensive people-to-people contacts and robust trade that go back to many centuries. Today also Saudi Arabia is home to 1.8 million strong Indian Community. The community has not only excelled in all walks of life, profession and businesses but also has contributed immensely to the development and growth of the Kingdom. Each year more than 170,000 Indian visit the Kingdom for performing Hajj and many more visit to perform Umrah. These interactions have left strong influences on the cultures of both the countries.

In 1932, when His Majesty King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud unified the Arabian Peninsula and established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru was full of praise for the King for his courage and statesmanship in unifying the Peninsula.

India became independent in 1947 and adopted a Constitution in 1950. In May 1955, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, who was also the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, came to New Delhi laying the foundation for our bilateral relations in the post war period. Soon after that, His Majesty King Saud bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud paid a 17-day long visit to India - the first ever visit by a Head of State of either country to the other. During the historic visit His Majesty King Saud toured a number of Indian cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore, Simla, Agra, Aligarh and Varanasi, many more than this youth delegation has visited.

In 1956 when our Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Kingdom he was not only received with warmth and fervour, but was given the unique honour of addressing a public gathering at a football stadium in Jeddah, a distinction which has not been accorded to any other visiting leader.

A new beginning in our bilateral partnership was the landmark visit of His Royal Majesty King Abdullah, the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques of Makkah and Madinah, to India in January 2006. His Majesty termed India as his "Second Home”. The participation of His Majesty as the Chief Guest at our Republic Day celebrations was a matter of deep honour for the people of India. The visit opened a new chapter in our bilateral relations and the 2006 ‘Delhi Declaration' signed by His Majesty the King and our Hon'ble Prime Minister enshrines our shared vision for a new relationship.

The momentum generated by the extensive bilateral interactions after His Majesty's visit culminated in the historic visit of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in February 2010. In keeping with the new global realities and unfolding opportunities of the 21st century, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and His Majesty King Abdullah signed the "Riyadh Declaration” which among other things recognized the importance of the youth in strengthening the relations between our countries. Your visit today is actually the result of their wisdom and foresight.

The youth is the most powerful resource on the earth. Nations must empower their youths through value-based education and leadership so that they build their world and plan their future by themselves in which they can live in peace and enjoy the fruits of progress and prosperity. Today, both India and Saudi Arabia have more than 50 % population under the age of 30 years. Youth is the force of change and in both the countries the youth is responding positively to the global challenges both in the social and economical fields. Interactions between the Youth of both the countries will certainly chart a new path in the relations between our two great nations.

All of you have heard the words of wisdom of Khalil Jibran. What did he say about youth? - "Youth is a beautiful dream, on whose brightness books shed a blinding dust. Will the day ever come when the wise link the joy of knowledge to youth's dream? Will the day ever come when Nature becomes the teacher of man, humanity his book and life his school? Youth's joyous purpose cannot be fulfilled until that day comes. Too slow is our march toward spiritual elevation, because we make so little use of youth's ardor.” I hope that the visit of this youth delegation is an answer to Khalil Jibran.

Thank you.

New Delhi
March 30, 2012

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