Riyadh Emir Faisal Bin Bandar Al-Saud and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Makkah Province Mohammad Bin Ahmad Tayyeb were the chief guests in Riyadh and Jeddah respectively at the reception hosted by the Indian missions in both the cities. Both the events began with the singing of the national anthems of India and Saudi Arabia with an exhibition in Riyadh and a cultural event in Jeddah were the hallmark of the celebrations. Indian Charge d' Affaires Hemant Kotalwar hosted the reception of 67th Republic Day at Tuwaiq Palace in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter where all the diplomats of other countries attended. All the Indian Embassy staff made elaborate arrangements, while Second Secretary Dr. Hifzur Rahman welcomed the gathering. A large Indian community across the Kingdom attended the reception. Kotalwar, Defense Attaché and their wife's personally met all the guests and welcomed them. The main attraction of the celebration was the Painting and Photography Exhibition by two Indian artists. Senior Journalist and Photographer K.N. Wasif presented photos on Indian architectural and heritage whereas Sabiha Majid presented photos on Saudi Arabia's heritage. In Jeddah, Tayyeb, while congratulating India on celebrating its 67th Republic Day at the Park Hyatt hotel in Jeddah, said the relations between the two nations have become stronger. As a person from Makkah the contributions by the Indian community to the development of Saudi Arabia is not recent for it goes back many years. While lauding the strengthening Saudi-India relations, Tayyeb praised the Indian community for their commitment. " They are known for their hard-working and law-abiding nature and also for their professional competence. They have grown to 3-million in numbers and I hope the numbers of Indians in the Kingdom grows," he said. They have contributed immensely for the development of Saudi Arabia, and I hope that they continue to contribute to develop the Kingdom while developing themselves," Tayyeb added. "And I personally thank them for all their efforts over the years," he said while concluding his speech. Earlier, Consul General B. S. Mubarak welcomed dignitaries, all diplomats of other countries, and guests to the reception to mark the 67th Indian Republic Day. He stressed on the growing bilateral ties and expressed his confidence that the India-Saudi relations will grow from strength to strength. "India and the Arabian Peninsula have historic relations dating back to several millennia. The relations include trade, people to people contacts and cultural exchange. In the recent past, the level of bilateral engagements between India and Saudi Arabia has reached the highest level," Mubarak said. "The Delhi declaration issued during the visit of former King Abdullah to India provided the foundation and road map to elevate our bilateral relations at the political and economic level. The Riyadh declaration issued during the visit of the former Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, heralded a new era of strategic partnership between the two countries. This was followed by other meetings between leaders of the two countries. Recently, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Antalya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman discussed bilateral issues and matters of mutual interest," Mubarak said. "On this occasion, I would like to put on record our sincere appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Ministry of Haj, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and all other agencies for their excellent support and facilitating a successful Haj 2015. I would like to thank the staff and students of the International Indian School Jeddah and DPS School Jeddah for organizing and presenting tonight's cultural program, and also thank all the mission officials and staff for all their efforts in making this event a success," he said, adding, "I would like to thank my wife Latifah for painstakingly planning and organizing the event with her dedicated team." The floral presentation welcoming the guests was put together by a team of ladies led by Latifah Mubarak. — With input from Mir Mohsin Ali
