New Delhi — Senior Saudi commentator and broadcaster Sulliman Al-Zehaifi visited India, and praised the nation for its role in achieving global peace and development, Asian News International (ANI) reported on Thursday.
Al-Zehaifi said, “India as a member of the G20, they have a role just like any other member of the G20, every guest that’s going to be attending the G20. It goes to show that conflict is, unfortunately, continuing to happen, but how they are going to tackle that as a unit as members of G20 and members of the world goes to show that Terrorism is an unfortunate thing that every nation is facing besides hunger, famine and conflicts”.
He further said, “As we see the conflicts in certain areas around the world from time to time, but how the nations come together and how they understand and deal with each other with respect and continuation in growth in all sectors – health, education, trade, business and tourism”.
Al-Zehaifi expressed his excitement about India hosting more than 200 G20 meetings across the nation because he thought it would be a good opportunity for the nation to highlight its rich and diverse culture.
“We had discussions during this visit, and it’s my first visit, that there are a lot of initiatives for every region of India, every state, every part of it for the G20 to come and visit. So, it goes to show that they are not including only specific cities and not including any specific regions, but including any and all. It goes to show that they want to develop the nation as a whole just like Saudi Arabia”, the Commentator said.
Al-Zehaifi, who is fascinated by India’s economic development, noted that both Saudi Arabia and India have aspirational growth goals for the future.
“You guys want to believe 2047-48, you have a very ambitious plan, because, of course, 1.6 billion is a huge population and it takes time to build on that. Saudi Arabia is doing the same thing with vision 2030”, he said.
With a strong commitment to democracy and multilateralism, many regard India’s G20 Presidency as a turning point in its history because of its efforts to play a significant part in achieving peace and prosperity on a global scale through practical solutions.
Al-Zehaifi, who toured numerous historical sites in New Delhi, claimed that Saudi Arabia and India share a close cultural affinity. He claimed that when Saudi Arabia and India come together for the first time, their cultural ties will go far further than most people realize in terms of cuisine, customs, and even languages.
“We visited many historical places and we saw Arabic calligraphy. Arabs need to realise that they have been here for many years and vice versa. The Silk Road connected India to the Middle East and to Europe. From the historical times there are bonds and mutual understanding with one another”, he said.
Al-Zehaifi thinks there are significant cultural and commercial linkages between Saudi Arabia and India.
“Many people do not realise that a lot of things in the Middle-East are from India in terms of spices, in terms of culture and even here als the languages, etc. Once you understand a region or a country, to better understand them and how to deal with them in all sectors, you have to understand their culture and their languages and what’s a better way to do that than visiting India”, he expounded.
“You can read about it, you can talk to people in a cafe, you can see videos but it doesn’t do any justice. For me, I did all of that, I did my research, I asked many people as to where to go, what to see and what to eat and they said all of that is worthless if you don’t visit. So, when I came to visit it, it’s much more than I expected”, Al-Zehaifi said.
