Saudi parlimentary delegation visits India

[EjazR]

Shoura council in Saudi Arabia is the name of their parliament there

Shoura team in India exploring ways to boost ties - Arab News
A high-powered delegation led by Abdullah Al-Asheikh, president of the Shoura Council, arrived in India yesterday to boost cooperation in parliamentary affairs and to open a new chapter in Indo-Saudi relations.

The 11-member delegation, which includes senior Shoura members, will hold wide-ranging talks with high-ranking Indian officials in New Delhi today and tomorrow in a bid to further promote bilateral relations, Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao said in Riyadh yesterday.

"This high-powered Saudi delegation will hold interactions with Indian parliamentarians and compare different parliamentary practices in an effort to boost cooperation between the two legislative bodies," he said.

This is the first visit of a Shoura president to New Delhi. Somnath Chatterjee, then speaker of India's Lok Sabha, visited Riyadh in 2007.

Referring to the progressively growing relations between the Kingdom and India, Rao said: "The friendship and close cooperation between the two countries are at a high point, having been nurtured in recent times through regular consultations between our top officials."

The move to promote cooperation in the field of parliamentary affairs is important keeping in view India's growing engagement in the Kingdom and in the region at large.

Asked about the itinerary of the Saudi delegation, Manohar Ram, deputy chief of the Indian mission, said: "The Saudi delegation will visit the Indian Parliament on Tuesday, where they will be received by Mira Kumar, Lok Sabha (House of the People) speaker.”

Al-Asheikh and his accompanying delegation will also attend the sessions of Lok Sabha, said Ram, adding that Kumar will host a dinner for the Saudi guests tonight.

The Saudi delegation will also hold talks with India's vice president Mohammad Hamid Ansari before they join a lunch hosted by Indo-Saudi Friendship Group tomorrow.

India has an active Indo-Saudi Friendship Group in its Parliament, whereas the Shoura Council has also constituted a 20-member friendship group. The delegation is likely to meet several top Indian officials, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the three-day trip.

Ram pointed out that the delegation would also hold talks with K. Rahman Khan, deputy speaker of Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha), who visited Riyadh in February this year to attend the third G20 Speakers’ Consultation Meeting. Separate meetings have also been scheduled with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna and Shushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition in the Indian Parliament, before the delegation wraps up its visit on Thursday.

Asked about the subjects of the talks with Indian officials, Ram said both sides will discuss how to boost closer cooperation and how to contribute to promoting peace and stability in the region and the world in general.

"Cooperation in political and economic fields is developing very fast between the two countries, which are also evident from the multilateral cooperation through international forums especially by supporting each other’s candidacy," said the diplomat.

“The role of parliaments is very important in the modern world especially in ensuring global peace and security, said Ram. India always attaches importance to the Kingdom, considering the close relations as the two nations’ valuable treasures of peace and friendship to be preserved and passed to the future generations,” he added.

"The relationship between the Indian parliament and Shoura Council is an important component to our bilateral ties," said the diplomat.

The delegation led by Al-Asheikh includes senior Shoura members Mansoor Bin Abdullah Aba Al Khail, Yusuf Bin Abdus Sattar Al-Maimani, Dr. Sadoon S. Al-Sadoon and Dr. Abdur Rahman bin Usman Al-Sughayir, director general of Shoura's public relations and media. A 40-member youth delegation from Saudi Arabia, on a perception-changing visit to India, returned to the Kingdom only a few weeks back. The Shoura Council is the apex advisory and legislative body of the Kingdom with 150 members.

The Parliament, which comprises the president and the two houses, Lok Sabha (House of People) and Rajya Sabha (council of states), within the framework of a bicameral system, is the supreme legislative body in India.

The two houses of the Parliament are composed of about 800 members who serve the largest democratic electorate in the world (714 million eligible voters). The members of Lok Sabha are elected by direct poll, whereas the member of Rajya Sabha are elected by members of the state legislative assemblies and union territories.

 

[lem34]

Congrats to Sauds and Indians. Maybe they can learn about parliament and democracy from each other.

 

[Mrityunjay Rai]

Congrats to Sauds and Indians. Maybe they can learn about parliament and democracy from each other.

Good One....

 

[EjazR]

Editorial: Growing Saudi-India relations - Arab News

The three-day visit to India by 11 members of the Kingdom’s 150-strong Shoura Council has been about much more than its core aim of boosting ties with Indian parliamentarians. It is the latest step in a rapprochement after last year’s trade spat, when New Delhi accused the Kingdom of “dumping” polypropylene in the Indian market. The punitive tax it imposed was rescinded this January.

As Shoura Council President Abdullah Al-Asheikh found, the Indians are now anxious to find a range of areas where the two countries can cooperate more closely.

Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for instance told his Saudi guests that India, which is the world’s fourth largest pharmaceutical producer, could help Saudi Arabia strengthen its own pharmaceutical production, while assisting with the setting up of medical colleges.

There can be little doubt that in the Saudi delegation’s busy schedule of meetings with top Indian officials, the issue of closer defense cooperation also came up. Final details of a wide-ranging defense cooperation agreement are now being ironed out following February’s two-day trip to the Kingdom by Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony.

As this newspaper commented at the time, the standoff over our polypropylene exports to the Indians was an unfortunate misjudgment by Delhi, which not only overlooked the commercial realities of this trade but also ignored the bigger picture of relations between our two countries.

Saudi Arabia benefits from the presence of almost two million Indian workers, the largest expatriate community in the country. Even as the Indian economy continues to grow, the remittances that the Indian community send home still make an important contribution to India’s foreign exchange reserves.

The two countries benefit from each other. We can even say they need each other. Saudi Arabia supplies crude oil and petrochemicals to an increasingly energy-hungry India. There is also a growing amount of capital export, as Saudi businessmen seek direct and indirect investments in Indian companies. Nor is it simply workers that India is sending to the Kingdom. Indian companies, most especially in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are beating a path to Saudi Arabia, seeking contracts within the massive infrastructural developments that are taking place here.

Once upon a time, the main bidders to win these tenders would have been from North America and Europe. However, the world has changed and the economic axis is shifting decisively eastward. Saudi Arabia has been quick to recognize the change.

Now along with South Korean contractors, who have long focused on the Gulf, there are Chinese, Indian and Malaysian firms operating in the region. Firms from these countries are often cheaper, more efficient and execute every bit as well and often better than traditional Western contractors. They are also bringing their own technology, which unlike North American and European firms, they are happier to see transferred, so that Saudi firms can benefit and grow.

In this new economic environment, Asia is set to loom ever larger in the Kingdom’s diplomatic plans and relationships. Moreover, it could be argued that our ties with India represent the template that will be pursued with other Asian countries. With the change in the economic axis and consequential move in geopolitical power, the global agenda will ultimately be formed by Asia, not the New World and Europe. Therefore it was significant that in their talks with Indian legislators and ministers, the delegation from the Shoura Council discussed greater coordination of international policy-making.

Saudi Arabia and its fellow GCC members need to be part of the initiatives that will fashion the world in the 21st century. By fostering strong relations with India and the rest of Asia, the Kingdom is ensuring that its voice will continue to be heard. While this does not mean that we are in any way abandoning the relationships that have been forged with the West, it does demonstrate that the Kingdom appreciates the fundamental geopolitical changes that are taking place and is responding in a positive and appropriate manner.