Mexico and Saudi Arabia will have Consulates in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Two more countries — Mexico and Saudi Arabia — are all set to open their honorary consulates in Bengaluru, enabling the promotion of economic and cultural ties between the tech city and those countries. While the consulate of Mexico will be inaugurated on Friday, Saudi Arabia is yet to announce a date for the opening of its consulate.

On December 7, Melba Pria, ambassador of Mexico, will open the honorary consulate at Maini Sadan building on 7th Cross, Lavelle Road. Sandeep Kumar Maini has been appointed consul. Mexico has an embassy in New Delhi and honorary consulates in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

SAUDI CONSULATE
Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, after a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to India Saud Mohammed Al-Sati, welcomed its decision to open a consulate in Bengaluru. “There are a lot of opportunities in Karnataka in the field of tourism and infrastructure development. Our government is open to investments from entrepreneurs of Saudi Arabia,” he told Saud Mohammed. During the talks, Kumaraswamy reportedly sought investments in the industrial sector.


The Saudi ambassador said the number of travellers between Bengaluru and Saudi Arabia has been on the rise and the number of aspirants for a Saudi visa has doubled in recent years. “In this background, the Saudi government has decided to establish a consulate in Bengaluru,” he said.

In June, Kumaraswamy, during an interaction with US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster, had requested for a US Consulate in the city. He had pointed out the strong technological ties between Bengaluru and the US and had said the consulate would facilitate visa requirements of many citizens visiting the US.