Indian Minister visits Abu Dhabi's first temple site

India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar who is on a three-day visit to United Arab Emirates (UAE) visited the under-construction Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. It is said to be the first traditional temple in the Arabian Peninsula.

On August 31, Jaishankar visited the site of the under-construction site of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in the UAE.

"On Ganesh Chaturthi, blessed to visit the @BAPS Hindu temple under construction in Abu Dhabi. Glad to see the rapid progress and deeply appreciate the devotion of all involved. Met the BAPS team, community supporters and devotees and workers at the site", tweeted Jaishankar.

Terming it as a symbol of peace, tolerance and harmony, the Minister hailed the efforts of all Indians in building the iconic Temple.

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir of Abu Dhabi in UAE is being built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

Defining Jaishankar's remarks as inspirational BAPS tweeted, "Our deepest gratitude to @DrSJaishankar for his visit to the Mandir on this auspicious day. His words of inspiration to the craftsmen, volunteers and contributors underlined the role of this Mandir as a Spiritual Oasis for Global Harmony".

Several thousand devotees from all over the world, well-wishers and guests participated in the Shila Pujan ceremony at Abu Mureikheh in 2018, which marked the first step in the construction of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi. Since then, the site of construction has received many visitors from all walks of faith, according to the temple authorities.

(ANI)