Speech of Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad, Ambassador of India, Astana

76th Republic Day of India

January 24,  2025

Honourable Chief Guest the Vice Minister of Trade and Integration Mr Kairat Torebayev,
Dear Excellencies my colleague Ambassadors
Fellow Diplomatic Corps
Ladies & Gentlemen

Namaste

Its with great pleasure, I extend a warm welcome to you all to this celebration of 76th Republic Day of India in snow-clad beautiful Astana . It's on the 26th January 1950, India adopted the Constitution and became a Republic after gaining independence from over 200 years of British rule. Today, India is not only the largest but most vibrant democracy on the earth due to the foundations laid by this very Constitution. It is the longest written Constitution which drew inspiration from over 50 Constitutions in the world at that time and architects ensured that it meets the aspirations of the people of a young nation. It served as the bedrock to promote equality, justice and fraternity and is flexible, which has been amended over 100 times to suit to the evolving ecosystem and contemporary times.

India is well known for its 5000 year old civilization, ancient scriptures like Vedas, Yoga, Ayurveda, rich heritage of culture etc but today’s India emerged as 5th largest and is the fastest growing economy in the world . India is proud of its achievements over the last 76 years with 1.4 billion population, of which about 60% are youth, vast diversity, home to all religions of the world living in harmony, hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects and so on. India joined the elite club of space technology with landing on Moon, issued 1.36 b digital ID cards, 968 m electorate, about 1.2 b internet and mobile subscribers, over 100 Unicorns with 3rd largest startup ecosystem, to mention only some, that provide opportunities for investment, manufacturing, growth and a huge market! 

To prove that Tradition and Technology can coexist, as we meet here, a 40 day long festival- ‘Maha Kumbh’ is going on where over 400 million are to take a dip at the confluence of sacred rivers, which comes every twelve years! Over 30 million Indians who live and work across the globe are significantly contributing to respective economies including heading several Fortune 500 companies.

India, on its part, as a global responsibility, is contributing significantly to fight the scourge of terrorism and climate change. India sponsored a resolution on Convention on Comprehensive International Terrorism at the United Nations in 1996. India is the largest contributor of troupes in the UN Peace Keeping Operations. India is committed to cleaner and greener global growth and led International Solar Alliance. India is one of the first countries to meet Paris climate accord targets almost 9 years before 2030. India has already crossed the renewable energy capacity of 200 GW and is on the way to meet the target of 500 GW by 2030.

On this significant and auspicious occasion, we also celebrate the enduring friendship, deep rooted in civilizational linkages and multi-faceted partnership between India and Kazakhstan. Relations between India and Kazakhstan go back more than 2000 years. There has been a constant and regular exchange of ideas, intellect, and cultural influences over the centuries. In the present era, relations between India and Kazakhstan     continue to exhibit dynamism and momentum. 

The bilateral relations were 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 have contributed to the development of multi-faceted cooperation. India appreciates the multi vector foreign policy and closely works with Kazakhstan in multi-lateral organisations like SCO, CICA and India-Central Asia Dialogue. Prime Minister Modi has appreciated and congratulated Hon’ble President Kassym Jomart Tokayev and the government on the successful conduct of the Chairmanship of SCO, holding of the Summit and World Nomad Games. Our Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar met the leadership during his visit to Astana in July last year. The Chief Justice and the Chief Election Commissioner of India visited last year for strengthening cooperation with Kazakh counterparts

Kazakhstan is not only the largest country but is also the India’s largest trade partner in Central Asia. India sees huge prospect in further expanding and strengthening economic relations with Kazakhstan in range of sectors as there are several complementarities. The recent signing of MoU between UK TMP and Indian Rare Earths Limited for Titanium slag is in this direction. Digitization, Minerals, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy are few areas which hold promise for expanding cooperation. The connectivity is poised to strengthen with INSTC and is expected to bolster trade and Commerce. 

We enjoy close cooperation in defence field. Besides, annual KazInd joint exercises , the service of Kazakhstan Armed Forces as part of the Indian Battalion, in the UN Mission in Lebanon, is a unique and cherished form of partnership between our two countries. The
cooperation has transcended into other verticals including training and defense production.

Cultural relations and capacity-building initiatives have cemented a people-to-people bond. Under India’s developmental assistance program India’s scholarships are provided to Kazakh citizens under ITEC and by ICCR in a wide spectrum of fields. We have Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre in Astana which imparts training in Yoga and Indian dance, music and language. I am pleased to inform that over 1400 Kazakh nationals availed ITEC facility while over 200 availed ICCR scholarships. Currently, over 8000 Indian students have enrolled in Kazakh Universities to study Medicine.

There has been a big jump in tourism, particularly number of Indians visiting beautiful Almaty and surrounding regions, which touched over 100,000 last year. The direct air services have increased accordingly between Delhi and Almaty. This interaction, we believe will usher in much more economic collaborations in future.  

My special appreciation to the colleagues at Ministry of Foreign Affairs for all the support they extended to strengthen bilateral relations. I also thank Air Astana for sponsoring tickets for the raffle today. I would like to thank my officers and staff for making this evening an enjoyable one. Also, our deep appreciation to St Regis management for making it possible to serve spicy Indian delicacies this evening and the Director of cultural centre for arranging the cultural show this evening. 
Like to conclude with the words of the great Kazakh poet Abai Kunanbayev - ‘Althau 

ala bolsa auzdagha ketede thorthyo tughelbolsa thobedhega keledeS.’ 

Meaning the conflict leads to the loss of opportunities while harmony brings prosperity and divine favour! Relevant ever!