Gandhi Cycle Rally for peace in Riyadh

Hyderabad: The Embassy of India, Riyadh, organised the 'Gandhi Cycle Rally for Peace' on Friday in association with the Diplomatic Quarter Authority and Saudi Cycling Federation to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

More than 150 persons of different nationalities, gender and age, including many Saudi nationals, participated in the cycle rally. Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, flagged off the rally. Dr Sayeed and his wife Farha Sayeed also participated in the cycling.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sayeed said Mahatma Gandhi was a global messenger of peace, an extraordinary soul, who left behind an eternal message of peace, unity, and non-violence. He said the Gandhian ideology is as relevant to the world today as it was during his lifetime.

In this context, he lauded the recent remarks made by His Majesty King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz during a recent conference in Makkah that "Saudi Arabia is committed to spreading peace and co-existence and oppose racism and xenophobia on any pretext."

It was one of the first events of its kind held at the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh and reflected the increasingly friendly relations between India and Saudi Arabia, especially after the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Kingdom in April 2016 and the state visit of HRH Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to India in February this year.

A Saudi cycle acrobatic team gave a scintillating performance before the start of the rally. All the participants were distributed T-shirts and certificates of participation on the momentous occasion.