Remarks of Ambassador at the Concluding Ceremony of “Namaste Kuwait"
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- Category: Embassy News
- Published: Tuesday, 01 March 2022 04:27
Remarks of Ambassador at the Concluding Ceremony of “Namaste Kuwait, February 28, 2022
Esteemed Guests; My friends from media, Children, Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very Good Evening to all of you. Welcome to the concluding day of Namaste Kuwait: India-Kuwait Cultural Festival that we celebrated to mark the National Day of State of Kuwait and to coincide with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav that we celebrate this year.
At the outset, I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait and His Highness Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince, for hosting the large Indian community in Kuwait. Once again, I wish the leadership, the government and the people of Kuwait greetings of the National Day and Liberation Day of Kuwait.
Dear Friends,
We had a very eventful week in Kuwait. We have seen a lot of Indians joining hands with our Kuwaiti friends to celebrate the week long National Day celebrations. In the Embassy, we brought alive the cultural heritage of India through music, dance, yoga and movies. These celebrations received so much coverage in social media and electronic media in Kuwait which highlighted the deep cultural engagement between our two countries. Over the years, our large Indian community in Kuwait has become an integral part of the economic and cultural fabric of Kuwait and this is a partnership that continues to grow with every passing day.
Dear Friends,
Through this weeklong celebration here in Kuwait, we have demonstrated again to our Kuwaiti friends the beauty of India, a land of continuous civilization, a land of rich and varied cultural heritage and a land of serene beauty. I am happy to see more Kuwaiti friends travelling to India for tourism and business.
The world look at India today as a land of billion opportunities. We will soon overtake China as the most populous country in the world. In India, we speak different languages, we worship different gods, we eat different foods, we wear different clothes, but there that feeling of oneness and that common consciousness that keeps us together, that make us all proud of our nation India.
Dear Friends,
I would like to repeat it again and again. We are a land governed by a constitution, a constitution which establishes a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic. A constitution which guarantees justice – social economic and political; liberty of thought expression, belief, faith and worship; equality of status and of opportunity, fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. A vibrant democracy where elections are held where people have genuine right to elect their governments; an independent judiciary and a vibrant media.
Every day it is the constitution of India that gets celebrated when a democratic election takes place in some part of India. Every day it is the constitution of India and our civilizational ethos that get celebrated when we conduct our day to day life in an orderly manner. Every day it is the constitution of India that gets celebrated when we conduct our examinations all across the country to select people on the basis of merit. This is again the beauty of India, which makes us all proud.
We need to educate the world about it. We need to educate our own children about it. I am happy to announce that we are launching the familiarization visit of our school children to our Embassy starting next month. Everyday twenty thirty school children will visit our embassy and undertake a familiarization visit and interact with our officers and learn more about the working of the embassy. Indian Embassy is not just the passport or attestation office of India, it is much more than that. I look forward to welcoming our children and their parents to Embassy.
Dear Friends,
In India, we have so much to celebrate. India is a land of festivals. We have so many heroes whom we remember and pay homage to, almost every day. Today we are celebrating National Science Day. We remember and pay homage to Sir C.V. Raman, renowned scientist, we remember discovery of Raman Effect, a discovery that won him Nobel Prize in 1930. In his message today, Hon’ble Prime Minister said, I quote: “National Science Day greetings to all scientists and science enthusiasts. Let us reaffirm our commitment towards fulfilling our collective scientific responsibility and leveraging the power of science for human progress.” Unquote. On this occasion of National Science Day, I congratulate our many scientists who work in Kuwait. We have many renowned scientists working in KISR and in Kuwait University and in many other institutes and agencies here. I remember them, I thank them for their contributions in building our relationship.
Dear Friends,
When I look back to 2021, I am happy that despite the challenges of COVID 19 pandemic we had an excellent year in our bilateral relations and also in our engagement with our Kuwaiti friends and our Indian community. We celebrated the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations in a befitting manner. Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav was celebrated in Kuwait by almost all the Indian Associations in Kuwait. I recall the Indian tricolor flying on Kuwait Towers for the first time in the history of those towers, not once but twice. It’s a fact that no day went without celebrating India in Kuwait.
At the same time, we made it a point that those Indians who need our support always get it. Together we were able to fight the Covid 19 pandemic challenges. Better consular service and welfare of our community is always our priority and it will always remain our priority.
Dear Friends,
When we meet today at the concluding ceremony of Namaste Kuwait, I would like to thank all the Indian Community Associations, Community members and all the many Indian artists and children who have joined hands in this effort to showcase Indian culture and heritage.
We have a forward-looking action plan set to deepen our engagement with Kuwait for 2022. We will have an exciting year with more political, economic and cultural engagement. In invite you all to be partners in our endeavor to celebrate India in Kuwait and further strengthen our long-standing dynamic partnership.
Thank You and Good evening.