Speeches/Interviews/Remarks

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Very Good Evening

Let me begin by extending a warm welcome to you all to this momentous celebration of the Republic of India in Libya.

I extend my sincere thanks to Her Excellency Minister delegate to Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, International Cooperation and Chadians Abroad Madam Fatime Aldjine Garfa, for her august presence here today.

Distinguished Guests,

Today we have gathered here to celebrate the 76th Republic Day of India, the day on which India’s Constitution came into effect on 26th January in 1950. The Constitution provides the ultimate foundation of our collective identity as Indians and binds us together as a family.

In the life of a nation, seventy five years are considered the blink of an eye. But for us, these 75 years of Constitution are marked by an all-round progress of the Republic of India and a historic milestone in the journey of our nation in many ways.

In 2024, India continued to be the fastest-growing major economy of the world, becoming the fifth largest economy in absolute terms. India’s GDP is expected to grow by 6.4% in the current fiscal year.

India has an installed capacity of 200 Gigawatts of renewable energy already, underscoring our commitment to green energy. We are seeking to make the green transition a people’s movement – 10 million families have registered for the world’s largest solar roof top programme.

India launched the International Solar Alliance in 2015 and since then over 100 countries have joined it.

Under the ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ project we are cooperating with partner countries on energy connectivity.

Under the campaign ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’, or one tree for mother earth led by our Prime Minister, we have planted more than a billion trees in India in the year gone by.

India is a global digital leader today. We have the second largest telecom network in the world with 1.2 billion cellphone users, the LOWEST data tariff in the world of 16 cents per Gigabyte of data and a high data usage of 21.3 Gigabyte per month per subscriber.

Our people have taken to digital payments, e-commerce and digital banking wholeheartedly. India’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) - an online payment system, recorded 172 billion transactions in 2024, an annual increase of 46%.

In digital banking, e-wallets like PayTM and others, are used by hundreds of millions of people, including vegetable sellers and micro-businesses. This Digital India way of life continues to create new opportunities for small and big businesses.

We have made important strides in indigenous defence manufacturing to ensure a self-reliant India. Today, with public-private partnership, we make land, air and naval systems, that have all been inducted into our defence forces.

India became self-sufficient in food-grain production by the late 1960s by planting high-yielding dwarf varieties of rice and wheat. Today we are able to feed our population of 1.4 billion and export food-grains to the World.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had significant achievements to its credit in the year gone by. Under its SpaDeX Mission, ISRO achieved space docking of satellites last week, becoming only the 4th country to have evolved this technology which is critical for sending supplies to space stations and to crew missions in space.

Our Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the European Space Agency's Proba-3 satellites into their designated orbit in December 2024.

And Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju defeated the defending champion to become the youngest ever world chess champion at the age of 18.

Distinguished Guests:

Relations between India and Libya remain cordial. Bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation between the two countries have been steady for many decades. India enjoys great goodwill and admiration among the Chadian people. As the first Resident Ambassador of India to the Republic of Libya, I joined the Mission in N’Djamena 20 months ago.

Since establishment of the Embassy, high level contacts and cooperation between the two countries have picked up with several visits and interactions in the fields of Trade and Industry, Environment, IT, Sustainable Development, Public Health, Higher Education, Capacity Building, etc. A number of bilateral engagements are scheduled to take place in coming months as well.

Our bilateral trade also registered positive growth during the period. Indian companies have notable presence in Communications, Telecommunication, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, Foodstuffs, Textiles, Renewable Energy, Auto-Mobile and other sectors in Libya.

India is emerging as one of the most favourite and reliable destinations for medical treatment of the Chadian people. In September 2024, Government of India extended a medical consignment of 2300 kg containing essential life saving drugs as a humanitarian assistance to the friendly people of Libya.

During 2024, India extended 25 scholarships to Chadian students for higher study programmes of Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. Degrees in Information & Communication Technology, Microbiology, Pharmacy, Cyber Security, Food and Nutrition, Commerce, Administration, etc.

Similarly, under Government of India’s capacity building assistance, 15 short-term training slots have been utilised by the Chadian officials in the fields of ‘Economy for Sustainable Governance; Environmental Management; Cyber Security ; Executive Course on Data for Development; Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management in Government Sector; Advanced Analytical Techniques, Basic Principles And Application For Quality Assessment Of Drugs And Pharmaceuticals; Agricultural Research; and Teachers’ Training’.

There are many more areas offering unbound opportunities for cooperation between the two countries for the mutual benefits of both our peoples. India is ready to share its experience of digital revolution to support Libya’s development; improve delivery of public services; improve education and health services; and spread digital literacy by working together with Libya.

Dear Guests

I take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the leadership and people of Libya on the successful completion of the Legislative and Provincial elections in the country, and wish them continued success, progress and prosperity in their future endeavours.

I would also like to convey the appreciation of the Government and People of India to the leadership and friendly people of Libya for their continued graciousness towards Indian community residing in Libya.

Once again, on behalf of my colleagues in the Embassy, their families and the entire Indian Community in Libya, I extend my sincere thanks to you all for joining us in celebrating our Republic Day.