SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, AT THE BANQUET
HOSTED BY MR. CASSAM UTEEM, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF
MAURITIUS
PORT LOUIS, SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2001
Your Excellency Mr.
Cassam Uteem,
President of the Republic
of Mauritius and Madam Uteem,
The Rt Hon’ble Sir
Aneerood Jugnauth,
Prime Minister of
the Republic of Mauritius and Lady Jugnauth
Distinguished Ministers
and Parliamentarians
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We
are deeply honoured to be with you and Mrs. Uteem on this historic occasion.
It is a privilege for me, my wife and my delegation to be here on this
beautiful island, and to join all my Mauritian brothers and sisters in
celebrating the Independence Day of your great nation. On this occasion
I recall the opportunity I had of attending the first Republic Day Celebrations
of Mauritius in 1992 on the personal invitation of Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo.
May I say, Mr. President, that from the moment of our arrival, we have
been enveloped in a warmth and affection that truly symbolizes our age-old,
special and unique bonds. It is only natural, therefore, that I bring
with me today, in overflowing measure, the love and good wishes of the
people of India.
It
is almost exactly a century since Gandhiji visited your great country.
The torch of political awakening lit by him in those fateful days has
guided both our peoples to aspire for political independence and economic
emancipation. The message of Gandhiji shone like a beacon, and Sir Sewoosagar
Ramgoolam, the Father of the Mauritian nation, did us proud by choosing
the day of the Dandi March as the day that Mauritius awoke to freedom.
Your late poet, Somduth Bhuckory has so aptly summed up the intertwining
destinies of our nations, when he wrote:
Barah
(12) march ko aaya, pandrah (15) agast hamara
[On
March 12 has dawned, our own 15th August]
Excellency,
we in India rejoice at your success in building a prosperous country,
a peaceful society and a vibrant democratic polity. As we celebrate these
achievements together, allow me to pay tribute to those great Mauritian
sons and daughters, including the Bisoondoyal brothers, Sookdeo and Basdeo,
Sir Sewoosagar Ramgoolam and my good friend, the late Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo,
who laid the foundations of a modern nation.
Your
Excellency, India and Mauritius are bound together by a shared history,
close ties of kinship and a common vision for a better world. We have
both striven to build a society that is multiracial, multi-religious and
multilingual. Mauritius, like India, has a diverse social spectrum imbued
with an abiding sense of unity. We revel in the colourful diversity of
our heritage, and are happy that the rich hues of Africa, Asia and Europe
have blended so harmoniously in Mauritius. We are firm in our conviction
that the unity of our nations can only be secured by encouraging the creative
genius of all our peoples. It is precisely for this reason that we must
be ever vigilant against forces that divide in the name of religion, language
or culture.
Mr.
President, India and Mauritius share the Indian Ocean. It does not separate
us. It brings us together. A common civilization and the shared experiences
of history bind us together. They were brave and adventurous Indians,
who came ashore seeking a better future. It is gratifying that the country
they have built with their blood, sweat and tears stands out as a shining
example of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, subjugation
and injustice.
We
attach great significance to our relations with Mauritius. Our traditional
ties, our commitment to secularism, our belief in democracy and our nation-building
aspirations are in the process of being given a qualitatively new dimension.
The recent visit of Prime Minister Sir Aneerood Jugnauth to India has
set in motion a strategic partnership in new and modern technologies which
will secure the future of our coming generations. I am proud that we will
together build the first cyber city on this island. I am confident that
this will be our century.
Excellency,
our two countries have co-operated closely in the international arena
on the basis of a common commitment to shared values and principles. This
interaction reflects an identity of views on important global issues of
mutual concern. We believe that peace is a prerequisite for progress.
But rivalries, not of our making, exist in our region and elsewhere too.
They impinge upon our prosperity and impede our development. It is imperative
that, for a better tomorrow, interaction among nations be based on coexistence
not conflict, co-operation not confrontation, concord not coercion.
It
is a matter of abiding satisfaction to us that Africa owes much to deft
Mauritian diplomacy. The membership of the United Nations Security Council,
a growing role in SADC (Southern African Development Community), and the
chairpersonship of COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa)
and the Indian Ocean Commission, has given Mauritius her rightful place
in the international arena. We greatly admire the courage of your convictions.
We are firmly with you when you seek the restoration of your sovereign
right over your own soil in the Chagos Archipelago. I take this opportunity
to once again reiterate that the security and sovereignty of Mauritius
is of paramount importance to us. You will never find India wanting in
this regard.
Mr.
President, we recently witnessed death and destruction in Gujarat. It
was a natural disaster, quite unprecedented in the scale of its devastation.
The Mauritian government has taken tremendous initiatives to mobilise
relief. I would like to place on record my heartfelt gratitude for this
great humanitarian endeavour. It is an act of solidarity which the Government
and people of India will never forget.
Your
Excellency, on behalf of myself, and my wife, and my delegation, I profoundly
thank you and the people of Mauritius for the warmth of their welcome
and their gracious hospitality. May this Independence Day bring forth
greater prosperity and happiness to your country and people and may the
friendship between our two countries continue to grow from strength to
strength
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I request you to join me in raising a toast:
to the health and
happiness of H.E. Mr. Cassam Uteem, President of the Republic of Mauritius
and Mrs. Uteem; and
to the everlasting
peace, prosperity, happiness and well being of the people of Mauritius.
to the friendship
and solidarity of our peoples.
Thank you
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