Saturday, April 02, 2016

PM Narendra Modi in Saudi Arabia: Amid sheikhs, tweeting in Arabic

In a historic visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Saudi Arabia on a two day tour.

This is his second visit to Gulf region, which has the highest number of Indian expats--many millions more than in US or Europe.

The photograph on the left shows PM Modi amidst the Saudi leaders.

This photograph shows him at the official reception in his honour held in Riyad.

Flanked by the Sheikhs, Islamic flag with 'kalma' above and photographs of the former Arab leaders, Modi can be seen in the photo.

After reaching Saudi Arabia, Modi also tweeted in Arabic, from his official handle.

Earlier, Prime Minister had gone to UAE, in a visit last year.

The Indians living in Gulf send billions of foreign exchange to India. Saudi Arabia is an oil-rich state and is home to Mecca and Medina, the holiest sites in Islam, and hence, India has a special relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Muslims number nearly 200 million in India, and constitute the second biggest majority after Hindus. Hence, the visit assumes significance.

Interestingly, large number of BJP supporters have been targeting Saudi Arab, especially, on social media, but PM's visit indicates the importance of bilateral relationship between the two countries.