SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, AT THE BANQUET HOSTED
BY MR. S.R. NATHAN, PRESIDENT OF SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2000
Your Excellency President Nathan,
Mrs. Nathan,
Distinguished Singaporean Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It
is a great pleasure for me, my wife and my delegation to be in this beautiful
country and in this vibrant city of Singapore. We are touched, Mr. President,
by the warm reception and the gracious hospitality extended to us by your
Government and people, and particularly by you, Mr. President and the
First Lady, Mrs. Nathan.
Our
two countries have been linked together by history and geography. We have
had maintained maritime, commercial and cultural exchanges for centuries.
We have had common experiences under colonial rule and we have struggled
and travelled together the road to freedom and independence.
We
had always looked to Singapore as the heart of South East Asia. It is
in South East Asia that the two great Asian civilizations of China and
India met each other in history and interacted with each other, not in
a so-called clash of civilizations, but in mutual understanding and in
peaceful co-existence. To-day Singapore has emerged as a dynamic, stable
and tolerant and multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual society
and nation, that can be a model for the rest of Asia and indeed for the
world. India too, Mr. President, has evolved as a stable pluralistic society
in which tolerance is the master-principle that binds a vast and diverse
population into a coherent and stable nation. We are proud of this accomplishment
of ours as much as we admire your accomplishment in nation-building. At
the same time both our countries have been engaged in the adventure of
economic and social development through peaceful democratic means. Singapore
to-day is a vibrant modern economy. In the words of your first Prime Minister,
H.E. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore has transformed itself from a third world
country into first world country. This transformation is nothing short
of a miracle. I congratulate you on this remarkable achievement. India
too has been striving to uplift our one-billion people from the state
of underdevelopment to that of modern development. We have not reached
that stage yet. But we have been passing, especially during the last ten
years, through a period of liberalization and opening up of our economy
to the world. We have already registered considerable measure of success
in our efforts, though a good deal remains yet to be accomplished. Indian
economy is reckoned to-day among the five fastest growing economies of
the world, and our GNP is rated as the fifth largest in the world. We
have attained some remarkable successes in the field of science and technology,
especially in the realm of information technology and software. In this
new stage of development we look upon Singapore as an appropriate partner
in economic and commercial co-operation. Since the visit to India of your
Prime Minister Excellency Mr. Goh Chok Tong, the bilateral co-operation
between our two countries has gathered considerable momentum. To-day I
had the opportunity of witnessing with you, Mr. President, the signing
of two agreements between our two countries in the field of cultural co-operation,
and an important memorandum on economic co-operation. I believe that these
agreements will open up wider avenues of economic and cultural co-operation
between India and Singapore.
We
look upon our co-operation with Singapore as the gateway to larger co-operation
with South East Asia, East Asia and the Asia-Pacific. And in turn, we
shall be happy to offer you the technological expertise we have developed
as well as our vast and expanding market which has now opened up to the
world.
Mr.
President, as you are aware, India has been traditionally interested in
peace in our region and in the world. We have made sincere efforts to
enhance our international co-operation at all levels and in all directions.
This year alone we have engaged at the highest levels in cordial exchanges
with China, the United States, and Russia, and participated in the first
ever India – E.U. Summit meeting. In our immediate neighbourhood also
we have developed good and mutually beneficial relations. But we have
been vigilant in combating the new menace of international terrorism and
of the fundamentalist forces seeking to subvert the unity and stability
of established nations. We are prepared to travel any extent to face these
challenges and establish peaceful and harmonious relations with our neighbours.
May
I, Mr. President, say a few words before I end to thank the Government
of Singapore for the consistent support they have given to us for our
association as a full dialogue partner of ASEAN and a member of ARF, and
their efforts to include India in the APEC as well as with ASEM. I believe
that India’s destiny is intertwined with that of the South East Asia region
of which Singapore is an important part.
Ladies
and Gentlemen, may I now invite you to join me in a toast:
to the health
and well being of President Nathan and Mrs. Nathan;
to the happiness
and prosperity of the people of Singapore, and
to the friendship
between India and Singapore.
Thank you
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