REMARKS
BY AMBASSADOR OF INDIA TO VENEZUELA SHRI ABHISHEK SINGH ON THE OCCASION OF CULTURAL
EVENT TO CELEBRATE THE 75th
INDEPENDENCE DAY OF INDIA
His
Excellency Jorge Arreaza, Hon’ble Foreign Minister,
Her
Excellency Capaya Rodriguez
Her
Excellency Daniela Rodriguez
Friends
of India
Members
of the Indian diaspora
Members
ofMedia
Ladies
and Gentlemen.
Let me at the outset convey a warm
welcome to all of you on the momentous occasion of the celebration of 75th
Independence Day of India. To say that
today’s occasion is historic would be an understatement. Your presence today on
this august occasion despite the ongoing COVID pandemic is very special and I
am truly grateful to each one of you for your presence and good wishes.
2. 75 years may be a long time in the life of a
human being but still not that long in the life of a nation. Though it is a time of great celebrations, we
are mindful of the fact that the entire humanity is grappling with impact of
COVID19 pandemic. We have realized like
never before that only by supporting each other we can truly defeat this
pandemic.
Excellencies,
3. Embassy of India, Caracas had started in a
small measure many activities related to the celebrations of India’s 75thIndependence
Day. This will continue not only till
the Independence Day next year but would, in fact, continue for one more year
till August 2023. We want to utilize
this opportunity to showcase the achievements of India in various fields and
also through these events strengthen bonds of friendship with the people of
Venezuela and also the international community based in Caracas. We have started events like Bollywood-y-Arepa,
Khana-de-la India, Cultura-de-la India, Namaste India, which are all specially
dedicated to display aspect of India’s rich culture and history. It is also our intention to bridge
information gap about India so that the increasing interest in India is
adequately addressed. We have also launched the global digital painting and
poster making competition today.
Excellencies,
4. We are also looking at promoting greater
trade relations with Venezuela.In the year 2020-21, India’s exports have
increased by over US$200 million and reached the figure of US$557 million. We are raising our expectations and working
towards adding a further US$200 million to our export figures of last year to
Venezuela. The Embassy has recently
commissioned four market survey in the areas of Tourism, Oil and Natural gas, Auto
or tuktuk sector and business opportunities in the post-COVID scenario. We have received an enthusiastic response to
these initiatives of the Embassy when we launched the market survey in
Maracaibo and Caracas. We see there is
tremendous potential for bilateral cooperation in the field of pharma industry
and also new areas of cooperation including textiles, tea and possibly
e-commerce.
Excellencies,
5. Government of India under the visionary
leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set a goal to usher
in a ‘New India’during this75thyear of India’s independence. The ‘New India’ will incorporate not only the
philosophy of AtmaNirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) but also continue to follow
the philosophy of ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam’ which means the world is one
family. India has been the first
respondent in many situations around the world when an emergency or natural
disaster struck a country. India has
also been in the forefront of providing vaccine around the world as part of its
‘vaccine maitri.’ The leadership and the
people of India truly believe in the concept of the world is one family and it
is the same spirit of ‘New India’ that guides me and my team in the Embassy.
6. The next 2 years of India’s celebration of
75 years of Independence will be an important time for us in the Embassy of
India, Caracas. I can assure you that
many of you will receive invitations for our events that are planned throughout
these 2 years. I am hopeful that you
will grace those events. While we wished
alarge-scale receptionfor everyone as we do on Republic Day each year on 26th
January, today’s evening is essentially a get togetherto mark this special day while
appreciating Indian cultural diversity through these dance forms which you will
witness in sometime.
Excellencies,
7. I would also like to mention that the
presence of some of our members of Indian community in Caracas is of utmost
importance to us.Due to COVID pandemic, we have not had too many occasions to
meet in person. We do hope that in the
future as COVID cases come down and the situation is relatively better we will
have more occasions to interact with Indian community in Caracas. I would like to convey our sincere
appreciation of the achievements of Indian community in Venezuela and in the
concurrently accredited consular jurisdiction of Embassy in the Dutch islands of
Aruba, St. Maarten and Curacao.
8. Finally, I would again like to thank Foreign
Minister Jorge Arreaza and the senior leadership from Foreign Office for all the
help that we get. Your presence today,
Foreign Minister Arreaza, is a testimony of the bonds of friendship between the
peoples of our two countries. I hope
that you will enjoy the cultural performance that we have organized for this
evening.
9. With these words, I have the privilege of
inviting His Excellency Jorge Arreaza to come and say a few words.
Thank You.
