Sushma Swaraj meets Saudi King, inaugurates Janadriyah festival

Agencies
February 8, 2018

Riyadh, Feb 8: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz who inaugurated the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival Janadriyah at which India is the guest of honour country.

King Salman in the presence of Swaraj inaugurated the festival which exhibits Saudi Arabias rich tapestry of culture and heritage and is organised by the National Guard.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Swaraj thanked Saudi Arabia for according the Guest of Honour status to India at the Janadriyah festival, an official statement said.

She recalled the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia in April 2016 which gave strong impetus to the bilateral partnership, it said.

Swaraj added that the festival provides an opportunity to showcase and further build upon this relationship, the statement said.

"Indias participation at the Janadriyah Festival provides an opportunity to showcase our strong bilateral relationship: EAM @SushmaSwaraj,", Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Showcasing the core values and traditions of India, the India Pavilion mounted on the occasion is based on the theme "Saudi ka Dost Bharat", the official statement said.

"EAM @SushmaSwaraj receives His Majesty King Salman at the India Pavilion showcasing the traditional and modern aspects of India! The Pavilion with the theme Saudi ka dost Bharat is a big draw at Janadriyah," Kumar said in another tweet.

Swaraj, who arrived here yesterday on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia, called on King Salman here.

They discussed steps to further intensify the bilateral strategic partnership in all sectors and to work towards each others progress.

"Steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each others progress came up during warm discussion," Kumar tweeted.

Earlier, Swaraj met her Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade, energy, defence and security ties.

Kumar said the discussions between the two leaders focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders also discussed the regional and global situation, Kumar said.

Swaraj reaffirmed Indias support to peace in the region and called for collective efforts in fighting the menace of terrorism, the statement said.

She called for taking the strategic partnership to a higher level and in a variety of sectors, it said.

Swaraj said that Indias flagship programmes including Make in India and Digital India complement well with Vision 2030 launched by Saudi Arabia and invited Saudi investments in India, it added.

A welcome sign in Hindi appreciating Indias rich cultural heritage was placed at the Foreign Ministry building where Adel Jubeir hosted a lunch in honour of Swaraj.

Last evening, Swaraj addressed Indian community members at a reception here and spoke in length about the growing relations between the two countries, Kumar said.

Swaraj thanked the Indian community for the goodwill it has earned for the country and lauded the Indian embassy for its promptness.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 3 million Indian people and ties between the two countries are on an upswing in the last few years especially after the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf Kingdom in April 2016.

Saudi Arabia is Indias fourth largest trade partner after China, the US and the UAE. The country is a major source of Indias energy requirement as it accounts for almost one- fifth of Indias crude oil requirement.

The volume of bilateral trade during 2016-17 was recorded at USD 25.079 billion, a slight decrease from the USD 26.71 billion in 2015-16.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Ajman, Apr 5: A bakery worker in Ajman has been detained for spitting in the bread dough as he prepared bread at the bakery, police said.

The General Command of Ajman Police arrested the Asian worker in coordination with Ajman Municipality after investigators suggested that he intentionally spat in the dough while preparing bread at a bakery which is located in Ajman.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Ghafli, Director of Al-Jarf Al-Shamel Police Station, said a team from police had immediately gone to arrest the worker after receiving a report from the municipality confirming that the man spat in the bread dough.

Officials said a customer had filmed the Asian as he spat in the dough while preparing the bread at the bakery during the evening.

The customer then filed a complaint to the municipality with the supporting evidence of a video as the worker was doing the buzzer act.

Police said the man was taken for for psychological examination as he's being prepared to be referred to the public prosecution.

Meanwhile, the bakery has been shut down by the municipality for violating food hygiene and public health rules.

Lt. Col. Al-Ghafli has appealed to the public to report persons or any acts that could harm the health and safety of the public.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Riyadh, Apr 24: As many as eleven Indian nationals have died due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

"As per information available with the Embassy as of April 22, eleven Indian nationals (four in Madinah, three in Makkah, two in Jeddah, one in Riyadh and one in Dammam) have passed away due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said in a press release on Wednesday.

It urged the Indian community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Embassy also reiterates the need for the community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours that may create panic. It is important that social media is not used to disseminate false messages and spread hatred along communal lines that can vitiate the atmosphere," the Embassy said.

"As stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking, and our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," it said.

Moreover, several measures on the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need are being implemented across the Kingdom.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ausaf Sayeed on April 22 had interacted with Indian community volunteers from the smaller towns all across the Kingdom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 situation, and evaluate the implementation of various measures to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals.

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News Network
February 19,2020

New Delhi, Feb 19: The UIDAI on Tuesday said its Hyderabad office has sent notices to 127 people for allegedly obtaining Aadhaar numbers on "false pretences" but asserted these have nothing to do with citizenship.

The notices were issued after reports from the police, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said.

"Aadhaar is not a document of citizenship and UIDAI has been mandated under the Aadhaar Act to ascertain residency of a person in India for 182 days prior to applying for Aadhaar," the nodal body, which issues the 12-digit biometric ID, said in a statement.

The Supreme Court, in its landmark decision, has directed the UIDAI not to issue Aadhaar to illegal immigrants, it said.

"It may be noted that the regional office Hyderabad received reports from the state police that 127 people have obtained Aadhaar on false pretences, as in their preliminary enquiry they were found illegal immigrants who were not qualified to obtain an Aadhaar number," the UIDAI said.

As per the Aadhaar Act, such Aadhaar numbers are liable to be cancelled.

"Therefore, the regional office Hyderabad has sent notices to them to appear in person and to substantiate their claims for getting an Aadhaar number," it said.

The UIDAI emphasised that these notices have "nothing to do with citizenship and cancellation of Aadhaar number is in no way related to the nationality of any resident".

In case it is found and proved that any of them obtained Aadhaar by submitting false documents or through false pretences, their Aadhaar is liable to be cancelled or suspended depending on the severity of the transgression, UIDAI said.

"Severe errors like forged documents, etc., will lead to appropriate actions, including suspending /cancelling the Aadhaar," it cautioned.

"Sometimes it becomes necessary to cancel the Aadhaar number when it is found that a resident has obtained it by submitting false biometrics or documents. It is a routine quality improvement process that the UIDAI takes up regularly," the authority said.

The 127 people have been asked to appear before the UIDAI deputy director in Hyderabad for a personal hearing on February 20.

Additional time has been given to allow them to collect the requisite documents, "Since it may take them some more time to collect the original documents that they had submitted for obtaining Aadhaar, as informed by the state police, the UIDAI has postponed the personal hearing to May 2020," it added.

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