President of India holds banquet for His Majesty

Droupadi Murmu, President of the Republic of India, hosted an official dinner this evening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan palace, in the capital, New Delhi, in honour of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and to celebrate his historic visit.

Before the banquet, the Omani Royal Anthem and the Indian National Anthem were played, and His Majesty shook hands with Ministers of the Indian government, while the Indian President and the Prime Minister shook hands with members of the official delegation accompanying His Majesty.

His Majesty  delivered a speech, as follows:

“President Droupadi Murmu, dear audience members,

“We are delighted to arrive in New Delhi, the splendid capital of your hospitable country. We would like to express our feeling of contentment and great satisfaction with the constructive dialogue that we exchanged with you, as well as the meetings and consultations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of the Indian government.

“This visit constitutes a historic opportunity to celebrate the march of the good, long-standing relations between our two countries — relations that promise a future of further development and prosperity, a future that takes shape within our two countries’ common vision for the forthcoming stage.

“We together believe in the need to achieve fair peace and harmony in this region and in the world at large. We look forward to a future based on all that unites peoples and serves their aspirations, carrying the voice of the South to the entire world, so that this voice becomes a stream of development, science and knowledge—a catalyst for innovation, growth and progress.

“President Droupadi Murmu, we thank you very much for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to us.

“We take this opportunity to welcome you in the Sultanate of Oman, so that we could all pursue our constructive dialogue and further consolidate bonds and relations of cooperation between our two countries.

“From this podium, we express our sincere sentiments to the friendly people of India, wishing them further progress and prosperity.

“Wish you all peace, mercy and blessings of Allah the Almighty.”

At the end of the banquet, His Majesty wrote a message in the visitors’ book.

The banquet was attended by the official delegation accompanying His Majesty and a number of senior officials of the Indian government.

This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.