Remarks by Mr. Kanat Tumysh,
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan
at the reception on the occasion of the Republic Day of India
(January 26, 2023, Astana)
Your Excellency Madam Shubhdarshini Tripathi!
Your Excellencies Ambassadors!
Dear Ladies and Gentelmen!
Happy Republic Day of India! On behalf of the Government of Kazakhstan and on my own behalf, Madam Ambassador, I express my best wishes to you personally, as well as to the staff of the diplomatic mission and all citizens of India on this significant holiday!
India is a huge country, one of the most important partners of Kazakhstan in Asia.
Last year, on February 22, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries.
During this time, good results have been achieved in many areas of our cooperation based on mutual trust and understanding. I would like to note with great gratitude that our partnership grows from year to year reaching new heights and growing steadily.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Salamatsyz ba, Namaste, good evening!
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and on my own behalf, allow me to congratulate H.E. Madam Shubhdarshini Tripathi, and Her Excellency’s staff as well as all the Indian nationals on the auspicious occasion of the Republic Day of India.
Relations between Kazakhstan and India have deep historical roots. From ancient times there was a flow of trade, goods, as well as exchange of ideas, science, culture and technology between our nations and regions.
Today, India is the largest trade and economic partner of Kazakhstan in South Asia. We see India as a nation, which has a unique role in accelerating regional and global progress.
Over the years, Kazakhstan and India as the strategic partners. We have established a constructive political dialogue, multifaceted economic and humanitarian ties.
In January 2022, India hosted the 1st «Central Asia – India» Summit (in online format). It is symbolic that this Summit was held during the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries of Central Asia and India.
We believe that the Summit opened up new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, primarily in trade. In particular, the trade turnover between the countries of Central Asia and India in 2021 reached $3 billion. At the same time, the share of Kazakhstan amounted to 70% ($2 billion). As of now about 700 legal entities and branches with the participation of Indian capital are registered in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan and India have established fruitful cooperation not only bilaterally, but also within the multilateral frameworks, including UN, CICA, SCO, etc.
I would like to congratulate and wish success to our Indian friends, who have assumed the SCO Chairmanship and G-20 presidency last year.
Our President H.E. Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently participated in “The Voice of Global South Summit”, which was held within the G-20 presidency of India (on January 12-13 in virtual format). The Head of State stressed that India’s chairmanship in G-20 is a recognition of global stance as well as economic, scientific, technological achievements and potential of India.
We appreciate India’s support of the Kazakh Chairmanship’s initiatives on transformation of CICA into a full-fledged international organization. We are looking forward to jointly developing its potential as a unique pan-Asian organization.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Last year we opened a bust of the great Kazakh poet and thinker Abai in New Delhi, and a monument of the outstanding personality, political and public figure Mahatma Gandhi in Astana.
These events symbolized deepening cultural ties and friendly relations between Kazakhstan and India.
The legacy of these icons is extremely important as both leaders promoted humanistic ideas and universal values.
Remarkably, Abai said once: “The source of success is unity, and of well-being - life” and Mahatma Gandhi underscored: “The future depends on what we do in the present”.
I do believe that Kazakhstan and India will continue strengthening bilateral relations with new meaning and substance for the sake of the friendship and prosperity of our two great nations.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank Her Excellency Ambassador Tripathi and our colleagues from Indian Embassy for their valuable contributions to the development of relations between Kazakhstan and India.
I wish everyone here peace, well-being and prosperity.
Thank you for the attention, shukria!
Thank you.
Republic Day Speech EOI Astana–
26 January 2023
Your Excellency, Mr Kanat Tumysh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen !
1. It is a great honour and pleasure to welcome you all, to this celebration of the 74th Republic Day of India. This day marks the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950.
2. India has several reasons to reflect upon the 75-year journey of our Republic with satisfaction. Newly independent India conducted its largest election the world had ever seen. Democracy took deeper roots and flourished, nurturing strong bonds among a population of epic diversity. Strong democratic institutions, including grassroots governance, a widely respected electoral body, the rule of law, vigorous media, and a vibrant civil society have contributed to what India is today. Democracy has ensured that every region of India and every group is represented, across the spectrum and at the highest levels of office. Women have been elected as Prime Minister, President, Speaker of the Indian parliament and chief ministers of Indian states.
3. India’s growth trajectory has been impressive, from agricultural production to space technology, from affordable health care to world-class educational institutions, from Ayurveda to biotechnology, from giant steel plants to becoming an IT power and having the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world, with more than 100 ‘unicorn’ organizations as of now. In these 75 years of independence, India has seen a 100-fold increase in its GDP, placing it third in the world in terms of purchasing power parity, and one of the largest growing economies.
4. The India of 2023 is taking confident strides towards Atma Nirbharta or Self-Reliance. India has a strong network of scientific and technological institutions and the third-largest pool of scientific and technical manpower in the world. Further, the ‘Digital India’ programme launched in 2015 aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. Last year itself, over 40 per cent of the world's real-time payment transactions took place through the Indian digital payment platform – the Unified Payment Interface. Indian technical and corporate expertise is respected and acknowledged in the world, as can be seen from the Indian-origin CEOs of major technology giants like Microsoft, Google, IBM and Adobe. India operates one of the most advanced, cost-effective and socially relevant space programmes in the world, while readily sharing knowledge with partner agencies worldwide.
5. Indian Foreign Policy is human-centric and based on the firm belief in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam or “the World is one Family”. The most obvious manifestation of this was India's «Vaccine Maitri» program, under which 200 million doses of vaccine were exported and provided as an aid to more than 100 countries. At the same time, we deeply appreciate the support extended to us by the international community during the second COVID wave, including from Kazakhstan. India takes up the G-20 and SCO presidency with an awareness of the myriad problems facing the world and hopes to build consensus on the most relevant issues of our time. The motto of this year’s G20, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ reflects this endeavour.
Excellencies, ladies & gentlemen !
6. Kazakhstan recently celebrated 30 years of independence. For Kazakhstan, these years have been most significant, transformational and momentous. The people of Kazakhstan can justifiably look back with enormous pride and satisfaction at the rapid strides the country has made. Not only has it been able to preserve peace, security and stability in the country, it has emerged as a significant economic and political actor in the international arena.
7. Relations between India and Kazakhstan are ancient, going back more than 2000 years. There has been a constant and regular exchange of ideas, intellect, and cultural influences. The spread of Buddhism from India to Kazakhstan and Sufi beliefs from Kazakhstan to India are two such examples.
8. In the present era, relations between India and Kazakhstan continue to exhibit dynamism and momentum. The relationship was upgraded to the level of a Strategic Partnership in 2009. Regular exchange of visits at all levels from both sides and our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visits to Kazakhstan, in 2015 and 2017, have contributed to the development of multi-faceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations. We are also partners in many international fora such as the United Nations, SCO and CICA. Kazakhstan is India’s largest trade partner in Central Asia. We enjoy close cooperation in many defence and civilian fields. The service of Kazakhstan Armed Forces troops as part of the Indian Battalion, in the UN Mission in Lebanon, is a unique and cherished form of partnership between our two countries. Cultural relations and capacity-building initiatives have cemented a close people-to-people bond. Under India’s developmental assistance program, ITEC and ICCR scholarships are provided to Kazakh citizens, based on their priorities, in a large spectrum of fields. I am happy to inform you that over 1300 Kazakh nationals have availed ITEC facility and over 200 have availed ICCR scholarship.
9. 2022 was an excellent year in the context of our bilateral relations. Prime Minister Modi hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format in January 2022, which was attended by H.E. President Tokayev, along with other Central Asian Heads of State. This was followed by several Ministerial visits and notable interactions in the fields of economics, trade and security. I am also happy to share with you that Mahatma Gandhi’s first life-sized statue in Astana was unveiled last year in October. The bust of Great Kazakh poet & philosopher Abai was also inaugurated last year in June in New Delhi.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen !
10. We hope, that 2023 will be more fruitful and significant for every sector in our bilateral relations and our ties will grow from strength to strength. This year began on a high note as H.E. President Tokayev attended the «Voice of the Global South Summit» organized by India and chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders highlighted the issues of global concerns.
Excellencies, ladies & gentlemen !
11. Let me take this opportunity to thank the Government of Kazakhstan, the Foreign Office, line Ministries and agencies for cooperating and contributing to elevate our bilateral relationship.
12. I also thank the Indian diaspora for taking Indian culture far from our motherland and contributing to the growth and development in the land of their work.
Thank you.
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