Ambassador H E Dr. Deepak Mittal during a cake cutting ceremony at the Indian Embassy. Pics: Abdul Basit/The Peninsula
The Embassy of India in Qatar celebrated 75th Independence Day of India with great zeal at the premises of the Embassy yesterday.
On the occasion, the Embassy has launched new initiatives, a mobile app ‘India in Qatar’ to enhance its services, and Pravasi Bhartiya Sahayta Kendra (PBSK) to provide round the clock support and information to Indian expatriate community in Qatar.
The celebration began with paying floral tribute to Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi by Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Dr. Deepak Mittal.
The Ambassador hoisted the national flag, followed by the national anthem. The Independence Day message from the honourable President of India Ram Nath Kovind was read out on the occasion.
A video message by former Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah was played during the event. Al Attiyah in his message, highlighted the historic relations between Qatar and India in energy and other sectors.
The Ambassador launched Pravasi Bhartiya Sahayta Kendra ( PBSK) Qatar, a welfare initiative to provide round the clock support and information to Indian expatriates in Qatar.
The PBSK Qatar is reachable at 44953500 and [email protected] and is currently available from 8am to 5pm in Malayalam, Hindi and English and starting from October 2, live chat, WhatsApp services will be available. The services will soon to be provided in three more languages — Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu and would be made available for 16 hours in a day gradually.
A beta version of a mobile application ‘India in Qatar’ was launched on a pilot mode. The app is currently available in App store and will soon be available for Android.
Addressing the event, Ambassador H E Dr. Deepak Mittal lauded the contribution of Indian expatriate community in Qatar in building and strengthening relations between Qatar and India.
Ambassador H E Dr. Deepak Mittal hoisting the national flag to mark India's 75th Independence Day.
Talking about the huge strides India and Qatar have been making in taking the bilateral ties to new heights, the Ambassador said: “Qatar-India bilateral relations have progressed and continued to attain new heights over the past years. We have seen a strong partnership at the level of the leadership, including H H the Amir, H H the Father Amir and Prime Minister of India and others. They have been in constant communication.”
He thanked the leadership of Qatar for their care, support and patronage to Indian community in Qatar.
“We have seen, in recent times, great development of bilateral relationship to the benefit of Indian expatriate community in various areas including trade, investment, agriculture, food security, health security, environmental protection, defence, security, educational and cultural cooperation,” the Ambassador said.
He specially mentioned the health workers, teachers and COVID-19 warriors and encouraged the community to actively take part in finding solutions to global challenges such as climate change, health issues and sustainable energy resources for the benefit of both India and Qatar.
While addressing the Indian community organistions, he urged the Indian business community to become the voice of ‘vocal for local’ and ‘local for global’ campaigns promoting Indian products and work towards India’s ‘Atmanirbharta’ (self reliance).
In this context, he appreciated the recent handloom exhibition organised by Indian Women’s Association showcasing artistry of handloom weavers, the richness and diversity of Indian culture.
Recalling the performance of India and Qatar at recently concluded Olympics and their sportsmanship, the Ambassador praised the Indian Sports Centre’s (ISC) efforts. He encouraged ISC to promote traditional Indian sports and Fit India Movement.
He thanked the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) for organising and promoting activities under ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
The Ambassador said that the Amrit Mahotsav is a celebration of freedom fighters, the struggle they led to attain independence and the progress made by India in various fields since its independence.
The Ambassador handed over Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) insurances to 75 Indian workers.
An initiative called ‘Bridging Generations’ was launched, which is about conversations with senior Indian community members to bring forth their journey in Qatar since their early days which would be 1950s, 60s and 70s for many. It aims to document and pass on the journey of the Indian community in Qatar to younger generations Indians and Qataris.
The cultural element of the programme included – singing of the patriotic songs by Maratha Mandal, playing of a video medley of patriotic songs made by Embassy Spouses groups and a dance performance by ICC students.
