THIRTY YEARS OF EXCELLENT DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS!
At a reception last Friday to mark the 58th Anniversary of India’s Republic Day, the Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles, H.E. Arun Kumar Goel, in his address at the Coral Strand Hotel remarked that India has never allowed a smaller country to feel small, and has always extended her arm of friendship to Seychelles, which continues to be one of its important partners.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Patrick Pillay, speaking on behalf of Seychelles spoke about the excellent bilateral relationship between India and Seychelles. “It has already been thirty years since the two countries first established diplomatic relations.” The Minister reiterated. The State visit of President James Michel to India in 2005 was highlighted as proof that the two countries are interacting at the highest level.
Former President James Mancham, the first president of the Republic of Seychelles, was among guests present at the reception. As Head of State Mancham established diplomatic relations with India way back in 1976, just after independence. Other dignitaries present at the reception were Cabinet Ministers, Leader of the Opposition Wavel Ramkalawan, other members of the National Assembly, members from the opposition bench. Various members of the diplomatic corps were also in attendance.
We reproduce below the full text of the speech by The Indian High Commissioner to Seychelles, H.E. Arun Kumar delivered during a reception at the Coral Strand Hotel last Friday:
"I distinctly remember. It was in September 2004. On coming out of state house, after presenting my credentials, I was asked by reporters waiting outside how India viewed its relationship with a smaller country like Seychelles. I replied that for India, in the course of its civilisational history of 5 millennia, size never mattered and our effort had always been - never let the smaller country to feel small. In its long history, India has always won its friends not by military – not by economic – but by her spiritual strength. It is this ethos that makes us a natural partner for any country, irrespective of its size and importance. As the inheritors of this legacy of India, we in Seychelles could work with equanimity – both as India’s representative in Seychelles and Seychelles representative in India! It is this spiritual heritage of India which makes us immune from extraneous factors and go down the road further, without aspiring for fruits of labour.
I am happy to share with you that India’s growth rate has been excellent this year. It is already the fourth largest economy in the world on PPP basis and is poised to be the fifth largest economy in a decade’s time in conventional economic terms. Politically, there has been an all-round appreciation of India’s position both in India’s immediate neighbourhood and beyond. Indo-US nuclear deal is a case in point. Our mission to Moon called ‘Chandrayaan’ is well on course and our manned mission to space is set to become a reality with the successful recovery of the capsule launched into space, recently. All these successes will lead to a massive upliftment of our people from poverty and illiteracy. As a fifth of the humanity lives in India, this will have a rippling effect on the planet we live. Our successes do not get into our head but make us happy that we would have more money to assist the needy and use the technologies developed, to eliminate poverty and ensure level playing field for everyone. Our stance in Doha round of WTO talks is a testimony to this.
Be it before Industrial revolution when India commanded a fifth of the world’s economy or now as a developing country, India has always extended her arm of friendship. President Michel’s dream of making Seychelles as an IT destination - in the same way as India - is going to come to fruition. India’s representatives from Centre for Development of Advanced Computing – an institute which has developed a ranking super computer for India – will be in Seychelles next week to conduct a feasibility study for setting up an IT Training Centre. It is India’s endeavour, as an off-shore IT leader, to transfer our experience to Seychelles, which is eminently suited to have non-polluting IT industries with its track record of ecological and environmental protection. By March 07, we are expecting the commissioning of PAN AFRICAN E-NETWORK in Seychelles with tele-medicine facility in Victoria Hospital, tele-education facility in Mont Fleuri Institutional complex and VVIP connectivity in the state house. I have no doubt that with these two facilities start functioning properly, Seychelles will leap-frog into the new realm of opportunities that will unfold before this young nation of achievers. More projects are on the anvil and at different stages of implementation. I would like to assure that we will not let down our friend, Seychelles. I would also like to take this opportunity to assure the leaders who are assembled here that the ‘Seychelles first’ policy is not at variance with our own policy with regard to persons of Indian origin and non-resident Indians. As a democracy – the largest of all – what we say can be verified with our conduct. Long live Indo-Seychelles partnership!
Thank you and with this I propose a toast to the health of the President Michel and the prosperity of Seychelles and the long enduring friendship between India and Seychelles."
