Making an impassioned appeal in Hindi to Britain’s large Indian community to participate in India’s “growth story”, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj pledged the Narendra Modi government’s intention to deliver on its electoral promises, and live up to the hopes of Indians in and outside the country.
Departing from her written speech in English, which opened London’s first regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Ms. Swaraj, highlighted her governments’ development goals and initiatives, such as its plans to create 100 smart cities, establish full rail connectivity across the country, and provide clean drinking water and electricity.
“We are aware that there is hope as much outside India as there is inside…we are aware of the responsibility,” she said. “A job for every hand, water for every field, food for every stomach,” was the government’s goal for India, she said to loud applause from the delegates who had come from across the country and Europe.
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Those who voted with hope could be easily disillusioned, but “we will deliver and we will deliver fast,” the minister promised.
Ms. Swaraj and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond inaugurated the two-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London. The event will discuss a number of themes relating to the present and future of the 1.5 million strong diaspora, and the ways in which they could strengthen and leverage their ties and business links with India.
Mr. Hammond and Ms. Swaraj will hold bilateral talks, with a focus on the security environment arising from the new ISIL threat. “A strong foreign policy partnership can play an important role in advancing both our nations’ security and political agenda,” Mr. Hammond said. He urged Britons of Indian origin to become “ambassadors of the UK” in India.
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“We regard relations with the UK as a priority in India’s external engagement,” Ms. Swaraj said during her formal speech.
Referring to the diaspora as a community that had “stood by India in good times and difficult days,” High Commissioner Ranjan Mathai said the government was eager to hear the Indian community in the UK’s views and ideas for strengthening ties with India.
In a press conference following the meeting, spokesperson and joint secretary of the external affairs ministry Syed Akbaruddin said the foreign ministers had held a 45- minute discussion on economic ties between the two countries, the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the threat from ISIL, the reasons for the fall in Indian student numbers in the UK, and how the countries could work together as part of the global effort to tackle the Ebola virus.
When asked if the visit of Mr Modi to the UK was discussed, Mr Akbaruddin said that the invitation to the Indian prime minister is a standing one although the dates were not discussed. Mr. Modi would visit the UK sometime next year, he said.