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
October 1,2024

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The Israeli regime has conducted a series of deadly airstrikes on the Syrian capital of Damascus, with Syrian media reporting three rounds of strikes in the capital area in one night.

An Israeli aircraft launched several missiles from the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, targeting locations southwest of Damascus.

Syrian air defenses successfully intercepted many of these missiles, according to the Syrian state media.

According to the Syrian military, the Israeli aggression led to the martyrdom of three civilians, the injury of nine others, and significant damage to private property.

The Al Mayadeen news outlet reports that local journalist Safaa Ahmad was among those killed in the attack, which hit the Mezzeh neighborhood in the Syrian capital. Rescue crews are dealing with fires on the ground.

Syrian television said one of its anchors was killed in the Israeli strike on Damascus on Tuesday.

State television said in a statement that it "mourns anchor Safaa Ahmad who was martyred in the Israeli aggression on the capital Damascus."

The official SANA news agency earlier said "air defense systems are intercepting hostile targets for the third time tonight in the Damascus area," using a phrase that usually refers to Israeli aggression.

Subsequently, another wave of attacks was aimed at the suburbs of Damascus which was intercepted by air defenses.

Syria has consistently called on the UN Security Council to take action against these assaults, which it views as clear violations of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, especially those of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.

The Tel Aviv regime rarely comments on its attacks on Syrian territories, which many see as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s phenomenal success in confronting and decimating terrorism.

Damascus has time and again called on the UN Security Council to put an end to the regime’s attacks that violate Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Israeli attacks on Syria come amid the regime’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,600 people, mostly women and children, over the past year.

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News Network
September 28,2024

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A new wave of Israeli airstrikes have reportedly hit the Dahiyeh area in the south of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, which had come under deadly aerial attacks by the regime just hours earlier.

The strikes targeted several buildings in the al-Hadath and Laylaki neighborhoods in the area on Saturday.

Shortly afterwards, reports pointed to “a third wave of strikes” on al-Hadath as well as strikes against Choueifat, another southern Beirut suburb, with subsequent accounts putting the total number of the attacks at more than 30.

The Israeli military claimed that it was conducting strikes targeting “weapons belonging to Hezbollah…that were stored beneath civilian buildings” in southern Beirut.

Hezbollah's Media Relations’ Office, however, asserted, “The enemy's claims about the presence of weapons or weapons depots in the civilian buildings targeted by the bombing in the southern suburb are false.”

Simultaneous Israeli airstrikes targeted areas near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, including al-Bass, Burj al-Shamali, and al-Maashouq.

Also on Saturday, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon warned that the country was facing bloodshed not seen in decades, and that the crisis could deteriorate even further.

"The recent escalations in Lebanon are nothing short of catastrophic,” Imran Riza said. “We are witnessing the deadliest period in Lebanon in a generation, and many express their fear that this is just the beginning.”

On Friday, Israeli warplanes struck at least six residential structures in Dahiyeh's Haret Hreik neighborhood, killing at least eight people and wounding some 80 others.

The attacks came as part of the regime’s escalation against Lebanon that has been targeting the country since October 7, when Tel Aviv launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

The escalation has taken a deadlier turn since Monday, claiming the lives of more than 700 people across the country.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

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News Network
September 29,2024

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Jerusalem, Oct 28: Israel said on Sunday it was carrying out new air raids against civilians and Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, after assassinating resistance group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Nasrallah was assassinated in an Israeli strike a day earlier on Beirut’s southern suburbs, dealing a massive blow to the group he had led for decades.

Lebanon has declared three days of mourning for Hassan Nasrallah.

The development marks a sharp escalation in nearly a year of tit-for-tat cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel, and risks plunging the whole region into a wider war.

Israel continued to pound Lebanon on Sunday, with the ruthless military confirming it attacked dozens of targets in the territory of Lebanon in the last few hours.

The military has attacked hundreds of Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon since Saturday, it said, as it seeks to disable the group’s military operations and infrastructure.

Israel has raised the prospect of a ground operation against Hezbollah, prompting widespread international concern.

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