I extend my greetings and best wishes to the members of Indian community residing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of India's 66th Independence Day. On this auspicious day, we remember with reverence and pride, the sacrifices of our freedom fighters to liberate India and opening a new chapter in the era of modern India. Today, India occupies a distinct place in the comity of nations as the world's largest democracy and epitomizes peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society. It has earned international appreciation and admiration for the progress achieved in various fields like economy, education, culture and science & technology during the last six decades. Our economic growth backed by stable macroeconomic indicators, despite the recent global financial crisis has further reinforced our position in the international community and proved the resilience of the Indian economy. Our achievements in the field of science and technology, particularly in developing state-of-the-art technologies in frontier areas of information and communications technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, have been widely appreciated. The landmark visit by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to India in 2006 and the return visit of Indian Prime Dr. Minister Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in 2010 reflect the strong commitment of the two leaderships to further deepen and strengthen our bilateral relations. The “Delhi Declaration" signed during King Abdullah's visit sets out a roadmap for the enhancement of our relations, while the “Riyadh Declaration," signed during the visit of our Prime Minister, elevates our engagement to the level of a “strategic partnership" based on enhanced political, economic and security cooperation that constituted the basis of our ties. India and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong economic and commercial relations based on the inherent complementarities of our economies. Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of crude oil to India meeting around 20 percent of our crude oil requirements. Bilateral trade has registered an impressive increase in recent years and is valued at over $25 billion during 2010-11. Indian investments in the Kingdom has exceeded $2.5 billion with several major Indian companies operating in sectors such as information technology, construction, consultancy, contracting services, engineering goods, etc. Both Saudi Arabia and India are experiencing rapid socio-economic, commercial and technical transformations, opening new avenues for bilateral cooperation. There exists tremendous scope for growth and knowledge-sharing by learning from each others' experience. Saudi Arabia has great investment opportunities in the Indian economy in infrastructure, manufacturing and service sectors. Indian companies can benefit from the opportunities available in construction, banking, IT services, and petroleum and hydrocarbon sectors in Saudi Arabia. India, with its experience in human resources development and its reputation as knowledge-based economy, can be a valuable partner for the Kingdom in this field. On the occasion of our Independence Day, I would like to thank the members of Indian community in the Kingdom for their constructive role in strengthening our bilateral relations. Indians in the Kingdom have contributed to the growth and development of Saudi Arabia, a fact which is well appreciated by the Saudi leadership. I am hopeful that the Indian community would continue to be the “most preferred expatriate community" in the Kingdom for its skills, diligence, and law abiding and hard-working nature. I conclude by expressing my strong confidence and hope that the Indo-Saudi relations will grow from strength to strength, contributing to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and world. Hamid Ali Rao
