India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya greeted the guests in Arabic and wished them a blessed Ramadan at the banquet held yesterday.
"This is a time when the country with the second largest population of Muslims comes together in prayers and charity, feasting and fasting. Prayer and fasting are common to many religions in my country although it may be in different times of the year," Bhattacharyya said.
He said that India has respect and tolerance for all religions due to the country's diversity.
He mentioned that Islam is part of the Indian culture as it appears in different aspects of life.
"Our engagement with Islam as a faith is a long history of our syncretic evolution. You'll find the traces in our costumes, domestic life, music and fashion... In the way we are cooking, in the ceremonies of marriage and in the celebrations of festivals and fairs," he added.