Addressing the concluding session of the Saudi-Indian Youth Forum here, E. Ahamed, India's Minister of State for External Affairs, stressed the need to further bolster bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia describing them as “deep-rooted” and “based on strong and solid foundations”. The session was also attended by several senior Indian and Saudi officials, including Yousuf Al-Saadoun, undersecretary at the Saudi Foreign Ministry for economic and cultural affairs and head of the Saudi youth delegation, and Saudi Ambassador to India Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Sati. The delegation arrived in New Delhi on the last leg of a 10-day tour, which also took them to India's IT hubs of Bangalore and Hyderabad. In his speech, Ahamed highlighted the excellent relations between India and Saudi Arabia in various fields that date back to centuries. Addressing the gathering, Al-Saadoun conveyed the greetings of Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to the government and people of India. On behalf of the Saudi delegation, he thanked the Indian government and people for the welcome accorded to the delegation during its visit to various parts of the country. “The visit aims at enabling Saudi youths to convey a message of peace and love to all peace-loving people of the world,” Al-Saadoun said while noting that the visit helped the youth delegation to have a better understanding of India and its diverse culture. He also recalled the deep-rooted relations between the two friendly countries. “When we strive to further strengthen our bilateral relations, we have to give the youth an opportunity for holding dialogues and making contributions to crystallize bilateral and international cooperation programs,” he said. After the speeches, youth delegations of both countries issued a joint statement in which they commended leaders of Saudi Arabia and India, as well as presenting their visions and proposals aimed at bolstering bilateral relations with a special focus on boosting cooperation in the fields of communications and IT and exchange of knowledge and expertise on youth-related issues. Both sides have also proposed joint ventures in the fields of science, medicine and technology, especially making available medical services to remote regions with the help of advanced technology and e-health services. In a message to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, they outlined their hopes, aspirations and recommendations for promoting youth participation as well as their call for world peace. The delegation also proposed the establishment of an e-trade portal to make available the basic needs of life—food, medicines and clothing - for needy people across the world. During the 10-day tour, the Saudi delegation had interactions with prominent Indian figures, including former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, as well as ministers, senior officials and executives especially in the fields of communications and IT. The forum was the fourth in a series, three of which were conducted earlier in China, Brazil and Germany.
