Remarks for the 76th Republic Day reception - on 28 Jan 2025
H.E. Dr. Delcy Rodríguez, Executive Vice-President,
H.E. Yvan Gil Pinto, Minister of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs
H.E. Coromoto Godoy, Minister of Popular Power for Foreign Trade
H.E. Tatiana Pugh, Vice-Minister for Asia, Middle East and Oceania
Hon’ble Ministers and Vice Ministers, Hon’ble Governors of Provinces, Deputies of the National Assembly, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, distinguished academicians and intellectuals, Members from the Indian community, and the media,
Namaskar and Good Evening,
On behalf of the Government of India and the Indian Embassy in Caracas, I extend my warm greetings and welcome all of you at this celebration of the 76th Republic Day of India.
Republic Day is the day when the people of India gave themselves a constitution that reflected their hopes and aspirations. As we celebrate this day, we feel proud of India’s achievements in the last few years.
By hosting 3 editions of the 'Voice of the Global South Summit,' India has heralded a new dawn of multilateralism by mainstreaming the Global South's concerns in international discourse, and has ushered in an era where developing countries take their rightful place in shaping the global narrative. We are glad that Venezuela has participated in all the three editions of this summit.
India is currently the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a GDP close to USD 4 trillion. Despite facing high inflation and global uncertainties last year, the Indian economy has demonstrated resilience, characterized by strong GDP growth, substantial foreign exchange reserves, and record levels of foreign direct investment inflows.
According to the World Bank, the country’s GDP is projected to grow at 6.5% in the current financial year, underscoring its position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
As a responsible emerging power, India has been at the forefront of driving global action on climate change. India has co-founded the International Solar Alliance with France, and is leading the global movement towards solar power, with a focus on promoting energy access and transition. Already, the alliance has 110 member countries and is pursuing nine programmes promoting 10GW of off-grid and grid-connected solar projects in developing countries. Venezuela is an active member of this alliance and has taken keen interest in promoting its goals.
India has used indigenous technology to optimize resources and has promoted green energy to reduce carbon emissions. India has taken massive strides becoming the first G20 nation to achieve the Paris commitments in renewable energy. This progress is largely attributed to the accelerated expansion of solar energy, which has increased 32-fold in the last ten years. This speed and scale will also help us achieve 500 GW non-fossil capacity by the end of this decade (2030).
Last year was particularly eventful for many reasons.
In the realm of science, the Indian Space Research Organisation once again made the nation proud with its successful Space Docking Experiment, making India the fourth country in the world to have this capability. In addition, our first solar mission spacecraft Aditya-L1 successfully reached its destination.
Aimed at increasing our participation in cutting-edge research we have launched the National Quantum Mission and the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems. The Genome India Project is another pathbreaking initiative that will open new vistas in biotechnology research and also give a fillip to the public healthcare system.
In the field of entertainment, Payal Kapadia’s fiction feature titled ‘All We Imagine as Light’ won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Shakti, a fusion group of Indian musicians, won the Grammy Awards in the category of Best Global Music Album. One among the five composers was the legendary musician, Zakir Hussian who passed away last month.
It was a memorable year for sports fans with the Indian Cricket team winning the T20 World Cup and the year ended with 18-year-old Gukesh becoming the youngest ever to win the World Chess Championship.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is a strong desire both at people-to-people level as well as at the leadership level to further strengthen and expand the bilateral partnership between India and Venezuela.
Last year, the Embassy was actively engaged in multifaceted initiatives in political, economic and cultural areas to bring India closer to the people of Venezuela and to forge deep cultural linkages between us. In addition to bilateral meetings, there was a film festival in Valencia, business events in Anzoátegui, Lara, Portuguesa, Tachira and Carabobo, engagements with various universities, yoga day celebration, capacity building progarmmes and more, all of them adding strength to the bridge of friendship.
We are also actively pursuing to scale up the partnership in areas like energy, pharma and digital cooperation.
In conclusion, I once again extend warm greetings and best wishes to all of you. Enjoy the rest of your evening.
Gracias!
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