It is your sweat and toil that has brought me here: PM Modi to Indian community in Riyadh

dynamitenews.com
New Delhi / 3 April 2016. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently on day 2 of his trip in Saudi Arabia on the last leg of his three-nation tour to Belgium, US and Saudi Arabia. Marking his first trip to Saudi Arabia, he will be interacting with the local Indian community and will be signing important agreements to promote bilateral ties between the two countries. 

During his current trip Riyadh, PM Modi visited the Masmak fortress, an important landmark in the history of modern Saudi Arabia. 

Modi next met with Indian community members, who form a large part of the expatriate community in Saudi Arabia, numbering around 2.96 million people of the total population. He also visited the L&T workers residential complex, where the workers are currently engaged in the construction of the Riyadh Metro Project. 

“It is your sweat and toil that has brought me here,” he told more than 300 workers of L&T at their residential complex. “Your happiness is my happiness and when you are not happy, I feel the same.”

“You people have not only given a good reputation to India, but also have opened opportunities for Indian youth,” Modi said during the 17 min speech.

On his last day in Riyadh, Modi is visiting the Tata Consultancy Services’ All Women IT Centre, an office which provides employment opportunities to Saudi women, encouraging the empowerment of women in the community. 

Beginning in the afternoon, the Prime Minister will attend an official ceremony and delegation meeting with King Salman and selected top Saudi business leaders, where agreements are expected to be signed. Modi will also be discussing ways to promote bilateral investments.  In late evening, he will return to India. 
 

India’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is of key importance due to various reasons. Saudi Arabia is our 4th largest trading partner with our exports exceeding $11 billion. Also, Saudi Arabia is one of our largest energy suppliers, as it supplies nearly 20 percent of our crude imports with an estimated value of $21 billion. Indians form a large percent of the expatriate community in Saudi Arabia and a lot of Indian companies are also located there.