PRESIDENT A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM’S BANQUET SPEECH

IN HONOUR OF THE PRESIDENT OF CHINA

Your Excellency, Mr. Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China,

Madame Liu Yongqing,

Members of the Chinese delegation and

Distinguished guests,

It gives me great pleasure to very warmly welcome you, Mr President and your delegation to India. Your visit is indeed a historic milestone in our bilateral relations. Its significance is further enhanced as it comes as the high point of the celebrations of the India-China Friendship Year. Today, we look back with great satisfaction at the steady evolution of our relations to new levels of cooperation and mutual understanding. There is a long and fascinating history of cultural and civilisational exchanges between our two countries. These exchanges in the fields of architecture, music, painting, astronomy, mathematics and medicine, and the role played by Buddhism in bringing our countries together in times gone by have been chronicled extensively. Our traditional friendship and civilisational contact continue to provide a strong underpinning to the development of our present day dialogue and interaction. We are confident in our belief, Mr. President that our relations will continue to flourish and grow in years to come in multiple fields.

Let me recollect our history when , around the year 1750 AD, China and India together accounted for almost two-thirds of the total world trade before colonization of both our countries. Our joint mission in the area of trade should always lead to higher and more competitive output in terms of trade. This will lead to a more prosperous and better world.

Excellency, India looks at China’s rapid development with deep interest and appreciation. As a large developing country, endeavouring to seek inclusive development for its people, India faces many of the challenges that China also does. As our two countries take steady steps in their forward march towards progress and prosperity, close cooperation between us is imperative for the overall betterment of humanity. I am aware that you have visited India in the past. Your visit this time would give you an opportunity to see and understand the significant developments that have taken place in India since then. I am confident that as our two countries develop and our peoples prosper, our cooperation and exchanges will achieve even greater substance and sustenance. The pace at which India-China relations have recently grown across a comprehensive spectrum testifies this. We are confident that your visit will impart significant momentum to this positive process.

Convergence of technologies is taking place at a fast pace and both our countries can work together in this area. Information and communication technology have converged into ICT. IT has also combined with bio-technology and converged into bio-informatics. When bio-informatics will combine with nano-technology, we can make great progress towards a disease free, happy and more intelligent human habitat.

Excellency, our relationship transcends our bilateral interaction. With a population of one third of humanity that is constantly moving forward, what happens in India and China concerns the whole world. Our healthy economic growth and steady national development is a stabilizing factor in today’s international economic order. Both our countries seek a peaceful environment to focus on the paramount task of national development. Positive trends in India-China relations, therefore, promote peace, stability and harmonious development in the region in which we live and even beyond. The youth of our two countries presents the greatest source of our strength and hope.The successful Youth Exchange programme between our two countries is an example of how these citizens of tomorrow can appreciate the great cultures of our two nations and look forward to a bright and harmonious future.

The regional and global perspective of our ties further necessitates that we take a long-term and strategic view of our relationship. We need to add more substance and meaning to our this strategic relationship.Our discussions fully reflect our shared commitment to this end and are another pointer to the maturity of our relationship. Together, we can strengthen the global quest for multipolarization and multilateralism, and harness the positive forces of globalization for the benefit of developing countries.

Excellency, India views its relations with China as being of utmost importance and remains fully committed to further invigorating the strategic and cooperative partnership between our countries. We are confident that with the joint efforts of both sides, we will achieve this laudable goal. Let me once again welcome Your Excellency and Madame Liu Yongqing to India.

May I request the distinguished guests to join me in raising a toast -

- To the good health of Mr. Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China and Madame Liu Yongqing

- To the well-being of the Chinese people, and

- To ever-lasting friendship between India and China.

Thank You !

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