In the framework of the current official visit of Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the friendly Republic of India, and on behalf of the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohiuddin Khoja; the President of Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Abdullah bin Fahd Al-Hussein inaugurated Saudi-Indian Media Forum here today. On behalf of the Minister of Culture and Information, President Al-Hussein delivered his speech in which he welcomed the chief editors of newspapers, writers, intellectuals and journalists from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of India. The Minister on behalf of the Saudi delegation said they are pleased to visit the Republic of India with which we have historical ties, cooperation and affection, conveying to them the greetings of the Crown Prince currently on a visit to the friendly Republic of India. He stressed that this important visit by the Crown Prince to New Delhi comes within the context of high-level visits between the two countries initiated by the late King Saud in his historic visit to India in November 1955 which lasted seventeen days, and followed by the visit of former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Kingdom in September 1956 AD during which he delivered a speech at a popular gathering in a football stadium in Jeddah which was a privilege not granted to any other leader. The Minister emphasized that the official visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to India in January 2006 was a turning point in relations between the two countries during which he considered India as his second country and his participation as a guest of honor at the celebrations of India in the Republic Day was the source of great happiness for the Indian people; the visit opened a new page in Saudi-Indian relations during which Delhi Declaration was signed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; and it opened their joint vision on the future of relations between the two countries. He added," On the other hand, the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Kingdom in February 2010 represented another quantum leap in the march of relations between our two countries, during which the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prime Minister Singh signed Riyadh Declaration, in addition to the signing of important agreements and memorandums of understanding between the two countries. --More 16:03 LOCAL TIME 13:03 GMT تغريد
