SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R.NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, WHILE ACCEPTING CREDENTIALS FROM MRS. CAROLINE MCDONALD,
HIGH COMMISSIONER-DESIGNATE OF NEW ZEALAND
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
Excellency,
It gives
me great pleasure to receive from Your Excellency, the Letter of Credence
accrediting you as High Commissioner of New Zealand to the Republic of
India. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to you and hope that
your stay will be both enjoyable and productive.
India
and New Zealand have enjoyed cordial and friendly relations. These are
based on a number of complementarities built up over the years including
Commonwealth, the Parliamentary system, the English language, even cricket
and mountaineering. In the recent past, our relationship has been given
a further boost through several high level visits. Last year visits of
our Commerce Minister, Shri Murasoli Maran to New Zealand and of Mr. Jim
Sutton, Minister for Trade Negotiations of New Zealand to India added
depth to our relations.
This year your Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Trade, Mr. Phil Goff visited India in March and carried the relationship
considerably forward. Our External Affairs Minister, Shri Jaswant Singh
had the distinct pleasure of reciprocating the gesture recently by visiting
New Zealand where he met not only Mr. Goff but also the Prime Minister,
Her Excellency Mrs. Helen Clark and Mr. Mark Burton, the Minister of Defence
when wide range of topics were discussed and clarified. We are keenly
looking forward to the visit of your Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Mrs. Helen
Clark, to India to whom an invitation has been extended by our Prime Minister.
As she is a keen mountaineer, I hope she finds time during her visit to
enjoy our great Himalayan Ranges.
Our relationship
has grown substantially in many areas despite the great geographical distance
which separates us. Tourism has grown so has Education. New Zealand is
rapidly becoming a much sought after destination for Indian students.
In food processing, agriculture forestry, Information Technology and building
technology, there exists a tremendous scope of enhancing co-operation
between the two countries on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit.
In April
2001, Shri Pramod Mahajan, our Minister for Information Technology led
a delegation comprising eminent persons from Information Technology Industry,
which opened new vistas in this important field. He undertook another
visit shortly thereafter as head of a delegation of Parliamentary Whips
to New Zealand. I understand that our parliamentarians had good interaction
with their counterparts. Such interaction further strengthens the bonds
of democracy between us. We are looking forward to a visit of a Parliamentary
Delegation from New Zealand.
As Members
of the Commonwealth our delegations meet regularly under its aegis. We
have shared common concerns which we have expressed to each other at these
occasions, always with a sense of complete understanding. Our leaders
would soon be meeting again in Brisbane in October this year. The special
theme for CHOGM 2001, "Commonwealth in the 21st century: Continuity
and Renewal" is a most appropriate one for us and I am sure both India
and New Zealand would continue to work closely together for its realization.
Excellency,
I am confident that during your tenure here, India and New Zealand will
continue to work together to take our bilateral relations forward for
mutual benefit. I take this opportunity to extend my Government’s full
co-operation in your efforts for further strengthening our bilateral relations.
Thank you
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