Remarks
by Ambassador Abhishek Singh, Ambassador of India to Venezuela on the occasion
of the reception for Republic Day of India held on 31 January 2022.
His
Excellency Felix Plasencia, Hon’ble Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hon’ble
Ministers and Vice Ministers
Deputies
of the National Assembly
Ambassadors
Members
of Indian diaspora
Friends
of India
Ladies
and Gentlemen
It is my honor and privilege to welcome
you to the reception of our 73rd Republic Day celebrations. This
year also is the historic year of 75thanniversary of India’s
independence. I thank you all for your
presence despite the restrictions imposed by pandemic.
While this is truly the time to
celebrate the achievements of our republic, it is also the time to reflect,
contemplate, innovate and in some ways start preparations for celebrations of 100
years of India’s independence in 2047 which is 25 years from now.
Friends,
You are aware that India and Venezuela
celebrated 62 years of diplomatic relations last year. These years have been that of trust,
friendship and cooperation. For India
and Venezuela, we always say ‘India Y Venezuela Siempre Amigos’.
The years of COVID-19 pandemic have been
years of enormous challenges for all of us.
But they have been years of cooperation – standing with each other and
standing for each other. Immediately
after my arrival in Venezuela in August 2020, I had privilege to hand over 4
tonnes of COVID related medicines to Government of Venezuela.
Further cooperation has happened with
Emergency Use Authorisation of Indian vaccine COVAXIN granted by
Venezuela. This means that Indian
vaccine COVAXIN can be used in Venezuela.
Further talks are ongoing for possible use of Bilateral Vaccine Certificate.
India-Venezuela cooperation in the field of pharmaceutical products is
remarkable. Since April 2021, India has
already exported pharmaceutical products worth US$75 million to Venezuela.
Excellencies,
Last year, we were able to further
strengthen our bonds of friendship with Venezuela from the mountains of Merida
to the Salto Angelof Canaima to the delta of Amacuro,to the deserts of Falcon
to the beaches of Cayo de Agua in Los Roques.
Our diplomacy, our bonds of friendship
spread to all of the 23 States of Venezuela many of which are represented today
in this august gathering. All these
reflect what I have already said ‘India Y Venezuela Siempre Amigos.’
Excellencies,
During the celebrations of 75 years of
India’s independence, the Embassy of India in Caracas launched five new
initiatives in the previous year. These
initiatives are ‘Cultura de la India, Khana de la India, Yoga de la India,
Bollywood Y Arepa and Namaste India’. We
also organised Iconic India Week in Venezuela in November last year.
These initiatives have brought Indian
culture closer to the people of Venezuela and in the process we have also
experiencedthe unique culture of Venezuela which we deeply respect.
Friends,
Guided by the philosophy of ‘Vasudeva
Kutumbakum’ which means world is one family, India has supported more than 100 countries
with COVID related medicines as well as with COVID vaccine under the scheme of Vaccine
Maitri. While supporting the efforts of
other countries, India has already given more than 1.6 billion doses of COVID
vaccines to its own population.
Excellencies,
Under the visionary leadership of
Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Indian economy is in a robust
state. I am happy to share that India is
one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Ease of doing business in India has increased
manifold and the Government of India is putting special emphasis to encourage
innovation and Start-ups.
Excellencies,
I would also like to mention about the
great contribution made by the Indian diaspora around the world. In Venezuela, we have a small Indian
community but they have effectively contributed towards further strengthening
our cooperative bonds with Venezuela.
While we are very happy about the various things that India has achieved,
I would also take a moment to talk about some of the unique achievements of our
Venezuelan brothers and sisters.
Friends,
Yulimar Rojas who made a world record
breaking performance at the triple jump of the Tokyo Olympics is the pride of
the world. The El Sistema group which
will be performing today found reference in Guinness of Book of World Record of
having largest orchestra performance. I
must also appreciate the winning performance of the Group from the University
students who are present here for their winning performance for the KPMG
Innovation Award for which they worked towards creation of energy from photosynthesis. All are great performers and symbolize the
energy and success of Venezuelans.
Excellencies,
Finally, I would like to thank the august
presence of the Hon’ble Ministers of Venezuelan Government, friends of India, Indian
diaspora and diplomatic community. I am
sure that we are receiving through all of you the good wishes of the 32 million
Venezuelans who are, of course, great friends of India. I do hope that you have memorable evening
today. This will be a harbinger of many more celebrations that we will be
organizing in Venezuela this year.
Long live India-Venezuela friendship.
I
thank you all.
