Your excellency Mr. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of
Indonesia,
Madame Iriana Widodo,
Distinguished members of the Indonesian delegation,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It gives me great
pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to you and Madame Iriana Widodo on your
first State Visit to India.
Mr. President, you
represent a country with whom India shares age-old ties. These date back to at least the Srivijaya dynasty - if not earlier, when
Palembang used to be a major Buddhist pilgrimage centre. It was part of the Buddhist
pilgrim trail up to Nalanda and Bodh Gaya. These early contacts multiplied many
times over in Bali, Borobodur and Java. In the 13th Century, Sufi traders and Islamic missionaries
from Gujarat carried
Islam to Indonesia – which has evolved into your unique brand of 'Pribumisasi' Islam –that is at the foundations of the social and religious harmony
that are seen in Indonesia today. Epics such as the Ramayana
and Mahabharata, Hindu and Buddhist images, Sanskrit words and names, the timeless art of ikat and batik are simultaneously a part of our common heritage and everyday life in
India and Indonesia today.
During our respective national movements for freedom
from colonial rule, your Founding Fathers – Soekarno, Mohamad Hatta, Sutan Syahrir worked in close
collaboration with our national leaders - Jawaharlal Nehru and Biju
Patnaik among others. They shared ideas and strategies, and
drew inspiration from each other’s struggle - in a way that the course of events in one movement often impacted profoundly the
other. Prime Minister Sutan Syahrir's offer of sending shipments of rice
to India when Indonesia itself was under attack from the Dutch, and Prime
Minister Nehru's reciprocal gesture of dispatching
textiles and medicines to Indonesia best captures our great solidarity in those difficult days.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our founding leaders
represented not just India and
Indonesia, they took it upon themselves to raise the voice of oppressed peoples all over the world. The Asian Relations Conference hosted in New Delhi in March
1947, months before India became free, was an early assertion of Asian
identity. The Bandung Conference of 1955, bringing together 29 newly-independent countries from Asia and Africa, laid the foundations
of Afro-Asian solidarity. Together Indonesia and India helped to write the closing chapters of colonialism and started the Non-Aligned
Movement.
Today, each of our two countries represents a remarkable pluralism - of culture, ethnicity, religion and language. Your motto “Bhinneka
Tunggal Ika” mirrors our own slogan , “Unity in Diversity”.
We are two of the world’s largest democracies enjoying a successful strategic
partnership; we are maritime
neighbours committed to the security of sea lanes of communication and we
are both committed to overcome radicalism
and intolerance. Both our peoples believe
in the power of dialogue and peaceful means – with greater emphasis on finer
human values. We are two large Asian economies endowed with the means to effectively steer Asia on a positive growth trajectory. As forward-looking nations driven by the aspirations and hopes of our young populations, we are very much in step with each other – even 70 years
after our birth.
Mr. President, in the
last two years in office, you have led your country with great wisdom and
determination. Your State Visit to India is
taking place at a time when we both seek to add vigour and new dimensions to our already vibrant agenda. Indonesia
is already India’s number one trade partner in ASEAN - with a total bilateral trade of close to US$16 billion; and cumulative Indian
investment in Indonesia stands at close to US$15 billion. Our partnership co-operation
in the space sector is now 20 years
old. In the areas of culture, education and human resource development too, we are closely engaged. I have no doubt that the talks held today and the agreements and MOUs that were signed will serve as a road map for the
realization of our common goals.
Mr. President, we look forward to working with you to achieve the full potential of our economic co-operation, our maritime and air links and in increasing our reciprocal investments.
We would be happy to support your 'maritime fulcrum
vision' of Indonesia Nusantara to enable Indonesia to protect its maritime resources and
integrity and contribute to the security of the Indo-Pacific.
In the multilateral and global context of facing the common challenges of the 21st Century, it is my firm belief that
India and Indonesia, together, are factors of stability for the world.
With these words, I welcome you and Madame
once again.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I invite you to join me in raising a toast:
- to the
health and well-being of President Joko Widodo and Madame Widodo;
- to the
continued progress and prosperity of the people of Indonesia; and
- to the
enduring friendship between India and Indonesia.
*****
AKT/SH