Hyderabad: Ausaf Sayeed plans to get Saudi consulate to city

Hyderabad: Good news for Hyderabadi diaspora in Saudi Arabia. A civil servant from their own city is now set to take over as the Indian Ambassador to the kingdom.

Mr Ausaf Sayeed, who till recently served as Indian High Commissioner in Seychelles, will take up the new assignment next week.

During his third stint in the kingdom, Mr Sayeed plans to work for further strengthening of ties between India and Saudi Arabia. He is keen on promoting the cause of Telangana, his home state.

At a felicitation function organised here recently, Mr Sayeed said he would like to do his bit for Telangana which he had chosen for the additional duty of counselling allotted to IFS cadre. With an economic growth rate of 14 percent, Telangana has become the model state.

The $100b investment promised by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman would open a new chapter and further strengthen the age-old ties between the two countries. Mr Sayeed recalled how he worked with the K. Chandrasekhar Rao government when posted to Chicago.

Chicago and Jeddah, Mr Sayeed said, were two places where Hyderabadis had migrated in large numbers. The Nizam was the first to render financial assistance for the railway project in Hijaz and helped in providing electricity to the two holy mosques in Saudi Arabia besides building rubats (guest houses) for pilgrims. “My earlier work here will come handy to help the expatriates”, Mr Sayeed said.

A career diplomat of 1989 batch, Mr Sayeed during his numerous posting abroad had worked to promote the rich customs and traditions of India.

During his previous postings in Saudi Arabia he organised many mushairas and humour sessions, a reason why the Indian community is eagerly looking  forward to his new assignment there. He is also keen to promote Dairatul Maarif, the oriental research and publication bureau, which has rare Arabic books on different subjects. “These books need to be digitalised,” Mr. Sayeed said.

A.K. Khan, Advisor, Minority Affairs, hoped once Mr. Sayeed is in Saudi Arabia he would hasten up the setting up Saudi Consulate in Hyderabad. He also sought assistance from the Islamic Development Bank in the area of education. The Telangana government was spending a whopping  amount on the 206 minority residential schools. He also referred to identification of 10 acres of prime land at Kokapet for setting up of an Islamic Centre.

Prince Muffakham Jah Bahadur was among the scores of persons who attended the felicitation programme organised by Media Plus.