Georgetown:
In a historic moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Parliament in Guyana today. He is the first Indian prime minister in 56 years to visit the Caribbean nation. In his speech, PM Modi emphasised on the special bond between the two nations as highlighted the age-old ties which exist from the first Indians who migrated over 180 years ago.
PM Modi began his address to the parliamentarians in Guyana by saying, “I am here today in the capacity of India’s Prime Minister, but I’ve come to your beautiful country before – 24 years ago – as someone who was curious to know more about your country, its people, and the Caribbean region.”
“India and Guyana share a deep bond – a relationship of trust, hard work, and mutual respect,” PM Modi said in his opening remarks. He further noted that the two nations share common democratic values, and that, he said, is the way forward.
“For the world today, the strongest mantra to move forward is ‘Democracy First-Humanity First’,” he said. The prime minister, who had said over a year ago that ‘This is not an era for war’, today added to it by saying, “This is an era of cooperation, not conflict”, as he explained further that “Democracy is the way forward, not expansionism.”
Giving India’s example, he said, “Wherever the need arose, be it due to conflicts, calamities, economic crises, or even the pandemic, India selflessly worked for the benefit of the entire world. From Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Maldives in the neighbourhood to Turkiye and Syria, when there were calamities and crises, India acted as a responsible nation by being the first-responder. Because that is deep rooted in our ancient values.”
He further said that “India has never moved forward with ill intent or greed. We have never worked with an expansionist mindset. India has never fostered ties with any nation with the ill-intent of exploiting or capturing resources. We have always stayed away from doing that. Be it Sea or Space, these should be issues of universal cooperation, not universal conflict.”
“It is a time countries to identify the conditions that cause conflict and address them,” he said.
PM Modi went on to say “Today, ‘democracy first, humanity first’ is the strongest mantra to move ahead. The spirit of ‘democracy first’ teaches us to take everyone along and participate in everyone’s development. The spirit of ‘humanity first’ decides the direction of our decisions. When ‘humanity first’ is made the basis of decisions, the results prove to be beneficial for humanity.”
He said that in the spirit of ‘Democracy First, Humanity First’, India is also doing its duty as a ‘Vishwa Bandhu’, acting as first responders in times of crisis.
