On the occasion of the 64th Republic Day of India, I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to my fellow citizens of India and to the friendly people and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

As another year passes by, India has reason to be proud of its continuing commitment to individual freedoms, secularism and pluralism. Amid the continuing turmoil in many parts of the world, India’s stature as a functioning democracy remains tall, despite challenges.

Our economy has not been immune to the troubles of the global economy. However, I have no doubt that our strong economic fundamentals, backed by sound policies and the soaring aspirations of our youth, will enable us to return to a higher growth path sooner rather than later. Government has taken a number of steps in recent months to reinvigorate growth and strengthen inclusive development.

On the external front, we have attached special importance to maintaining friendly ties with our neighbours. India believes in shared prosperity of the region and invites her neighbours to be part of a collective success story by building new bridges of engagement.

The India-Sri Lanka relationship is special. Our deep social, cultural and popular bonds forged over centuries and shared interests and concerns provide a solid foundation for further strengthening of our extremely close, and friendly relations. India is committed to being a partner of Sri Lanka in meeting its aspirations of peace, harmony, growth and development. Our relations are growing rapidly in all areas, political, trade and investment, security, education, sports and culture

People-to-people links constitute one of the cardinal pillars of our relationship. We were proud to undertake the island-wide exposition of Sacred Kapilavastu Relics recently. Its successful organisation bears testimony to the common cultural threads binding India and Sri Lanka. The exposition, witnessed by nearly 3.5 million devotees, traveled from India as part of the Joint Commemoration of the 2600th Anniversary of Enlightenment of Lord Buddha.

In another eloquent testimony to this fraternal bond, His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka laid the foundation stone of the University of Buddhist and Indic Studies at Sanchi, during his visit to India in September 2012.

Last year, our two countries marked the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore with great enthusiasm.  We have now agreed to jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversaries of Swami Vivekananda in 2013-14 and of Anagarika Dharmapala in 2014-15.

In economic relations, India was Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner globally, and Sri Lanka again topped the list of India’s trading partners in South Asia. The bilateral trade turnover last year crossed US Dollar 5 billion mark. India was the leading source country in terms of foreign tourist arrivals and foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka. We will continue to enable Indian investment in Sri Lanka.

There are also striking success stories of Sri Lankan investment in India. Sri Lankan Airlines is one of the largest foreign airlines operating in India and over 250,000 Sri Lankans visited India last year.

The 8th session of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, co-chaired by the Ministers of External Affairs of India and Sri Lanka, was held in New Delhi on 22 January 2013 with many positive outcomes.

A Joint Task Force is following up on several important proposals made during the visit of Hon’ble Anand Sharma, the Commerce, Industries and Textiles Minister of India, in August 2012. These include India’s partnership in setting up two manufacturing zones, one for engineering goods and automobile components and the other for pharmaceuticals.

The two countries have agreed to double bilateral trade to US Dollar 10 billion by 2015 and to move towards an enhanced framework for a special economic partnership.

The feasibility study on inter-connection of power grids is nearing completion, and the two Governments have also agreed to explore the feasibility of establishing physical connectivity across the Palk Straits. The Sampur Power Project will be implemented soon so that it could go on-stream by 2016. A host of other projects and initiatives in diverse areas have been agreed upon.

The Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mrs. Meira Kumar, led a large Indian delegation to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in Colombo in September 2012.  An all-party Parliamentary delegation, led by the Hon’ble Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, visited Sri Lanka in April 2012. There were several productive Ministerial visits in both directions last year.

On the development cooperation side, the pilot phase of the project for construction of 1000 houses was successfully completed in July 2012.  The next phase of the Indian Housing Project for 43,000 housing units in the Northern and Eastern Provinces was launched on 2 October 2012. This phase is progressing well with work already commencing on over 5,000 houses. We also hope to launch soon the third phase of the housing project, involving construction of 6,000 houses for estate workers and in the Northern & Eastern Provinces.

We successfully completed the project for restoration of the Southern Railway line in April 2012, ahead of schedule. The reconstruction project for the Northern Railway line is also progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed by December 2013, again ahead of schedule.

Under our Small Development Project Scheme, we have completed several projects successfully and continue to take up many new projects in different sectors. The delivery of our development partnership projects has been done in a timely manner in keeping with the requirements on the ground and as per the priorities set by the Government of Sri Lanka.

We have also made a three-fold increase in scholarship support to deserving Sri Lankan students as part of “India-Sri Lanka Knowledge Initiative”.

Our defence and security cooperation has also developed steadily, with several high-level visits, the inaugural Annual Defence Dialogue and service-level Staff Talks, and continuing training of Sri Lankan defence personnel in India.

India believes that the end of the armed conflict presents an unparalleled opportunity to build a better future for all the people of Sri Lanka. There has been impressive progress towards the resettlement of IDPs and reconstruction in conflict-affected areas. India has assisted in these endeavours. We look forward to early conclusion of the ongoing efforts to implement the many constructive recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. India will continue to support moves towards an early political settlement to address the ethnic issue.

As I look back on the remarkable progress made in bilateral relations over the past year, I am filled with optimism for the future of our relationship and look forward to working towards taking it to the next level.

Colombo

On the occasion of the 64th Republic Day of India, I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to my fellow citizens of India and to the friendly people and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

As we celebrate this occasion as another milestone in India’s journey as an independent nation-State, it is a time to take stock of the areas where we have done well and those where we could have performed better. As another year passes by, we have reason to be proud of our continuing commitment to individual freedoms, secularism and pluralism. Our civilizational ethos has been underpinned by peaceful coexistence and tolerance, values that Mahatma Gandhi placed at the core of India’s national life. These principles are enshrined in our Constitution that provides the foundation for our secular, democratic and inclusive polity.

Amid the continuing turmoil in many parts of the world, India’s stature as a functioning democracy and a factor of stability in our region and beyond remains tall and its institutional structure is resilient, despite challenges. The past year has shown in ample measure that India’s faith in its youth, and their ability to act as agents of social change, is not misplaced.

Our economy has not been immune to the vicissitudes of the global economy. However, I have no doubt that our strong economic fundamentals, backed by sound policies and the dynamism of our people, will enable us to return to a higher growth path sooner rather than later.  Government has taken a number of initiatives in recent months to reinvigorate a rapid growth trajectory that will meet our aspirations for inclusive and sustainable development for an increasingly young India.

India has been witness to many positive stories in recent years. These include the remarkable acceleration in the rate of poverty reduction, stronger growth in the less-developed states, improved productivity and increased real wages in our agriculture sector.  The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is a flagship poverty alleviation programme and responds to the needs of over 53 million poor rural households by guaranteeing 100 days of employment per year through public works. On January 1 this year, India took the first step towards revolutionizing assistance-delivery to poor beneficiaries through a process of direct cash transfer, using the digital ‘Aadhaar’ platform for unique identification numbers to all residents of India. This is a path-breaking reform to make growth more inclusive. Today, an increasingly empowered and vocal citizenry is demanding more responsive, participative and transparent governance.

On the external front, we have attached special importance to maintaining friendly ties with our neighbours. India believes in shared growth and prosperity of the region and invites her neighbours to be part of a collective success story by building new bridges of engagement.

The India-Sri Lanka relationship is special. Our deep social, cultural and popular bonds forged over centuries and shared interests and concerns provide a solid foundation for further strengthening of our extremely close and friendly relations. India is committed to being a partner of Sri Lanka in meeting its aspirations of peace, harmony, growth and development. Our relations are growing rapidly in all areas, political, trade and investment, security, education, sports and culture

People-to-people links constitute one of the cardinal pillars of our relationship. The successful organization of an island-wide exposition of Sacred Kapilavastu Relics bears testimony to the common cultural threads binding India and Sri Lanka. The exposition, witnessed by nearly 3.5 million devotees, was organized as part of the Joint Commemoration of the 2600th Anniversary of Enlightenment of Lord Buddha.

In another eloquent testimony to this fraternal bond, H.E. the President of Sri Lanka laid the foundation of University of Buddhist and Indic Studies at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, during his visit to India in September 2012.

Last year, our two countries marked the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore with great enthusiasm.  We have now agreed to jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversaries of Swami Vivekananda in 2013-14 and of Anagarika Dharmapala in 2014-15.

Sri Lanka again topped the list of India’s trading partners in South Asia, and India was Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner globally, with bilateral trade crossing US$ 5 billion mark in 2011-12. India was the leading source country in terms of foreign tourist arrivals and foreign direct investment into Sri Lanka. I am happy that the growing engagement with India has facilitated creation of new capacities in the Sri Lankan economy in diverse sectors ranging from civil aviation and hospitality to ports and hospitals.

Similarly, there are striking success stories of Sri Lankan investment in India and Sri Lankan Airlines is one of the largest foreign airlines operating in India; over 250,000 Sri Lankans visited India last year.

The 8th session of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission, co-chaired by the External Affairs Ministers of India and Sri Lanka in New Delhi on 22 January 2013, was most productive. The Joint Commission agreed to pursue several important proposals made during the visit of Hon’ble Anand Sharma, the Commerce, Industries and Textiles Minister of India, in August 2012, entailing India’s involvement in the establishment of two manufacturing zones, one for engineering goods and automobile components and the other for pharmaceuticals. A Joint Task Force is working out the modalities for implementation of these proposals.

We hope to double the bilateral trade turnover to US$ 10 billion in the next three years. The two countries have also agreed to hold intensified negotiation towards an enhanced framework for a special economic partnership for comprehensive and sustained economic cooperation.

The feasibility study on inter-connection of power grids is nearing completion, and the two Governments have also agreed to explore the feasibility of establishing physical connectivity across the Palk Straits. Both sides agreed to expedite the implementation of the Sampur Power Project so that it could go on-stream by 2016.

The Joint Commission has identified and confirmed projects and initiatives in diverse fields, including tourism, civil aviation, connectivity, developmental partnership, science and technology, agriculture, energy, health, people-to-people contacts, culture and education.

The India-Sri Lanka CEOs Forum, which held its inaugural meeting in August 2012, is expected to generate ideas to enhance the engagement between the businesses of the two countries.  

An all-party Parliamentary delegation, led by the Hon’ble Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, visited Sri Lanka in April 2012. The Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Meira Kumar led a large Indian delegation to the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in Colombo in September 2012. There were several productive Ministerial visits in both directions last year.

The pilot phase of the project for construction of 1000 houses was successfully completed in July 2012.  The next phase of the Indian Housing Project for 43,000 housing units under the owner-driven mode in the Northern and Eastern Provinces was launched on the ground on 2 October 2012, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. I am happy to report that this phase is progressing well, with work already commencing on over 5,000 houses. We also hope to commence soon the implementation of the third phase of the housing project, involving construction of 4,000 houses for estate workers in Central & Uva Provinces as well of 2,000 houses for the most vulnerable sections in the Northern & Eastern Provinces.

We successfully completed the project for restoration of the Southern Railway line in April 2012, ahead of schedule. The reconstruction project for the Northern Railway line, under Indian lines of credit, is also progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed by December 2013, again ahead of schedule. Dredging operations would commence soon at the Kankesanthurai Harbour, marking another important step in India’s assistance towards restoring its full functionality as a commercial port.

Under our Small Development Project Scheme, we have completed many projects successfully and continue to expand our portfolio of projects in diverse sectors such as health, education, agriculture, fishing, livelihood restoration, community empowerment, and culture. The delivery of our development partnership projects has been done in a timely manner in keeping with the requirements on the ground and as per the priorities set by the Government of Sri Lanka.

We have also operationalised a three-fold increase in scholarship support to deserving Sri Lankan students, through a grant assistance of Rs. 2.5 billion over the next three years, as part of “India-Sri Lanka Knowledge Initiative”.

Our defence and security cooperation is developing steadily, with the inaugural Annual Defence Dialogue and service-level Staff Talks held last year, and the ongoing training of Sri Lankan defence personnel in India.  The exchange of high level defence visits has continued, with the Chief of Army Staff of India visiting Sri Lanka in December 2012, participation of the Vice Chief of Naval Staff of India at Galle Maritime Dialogue, and the current visit of the Chief of Defence Staff of Sri Lanka to India. The National Security Adviser of India and Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka have also exchanged visits.

India believes that the end of the armed conflict presents an unparalleled opportunity to build a better future for all the people of Sri Lanka. There has been impressive progress towards the resettlement of IDPs and reconstruction in conflict-affected areas; India has assisted in these endeavours. We look forward to early conclusion of the ongoing efforts to implement the many constructive recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. Expeditious implementation of these recommendations will mark a major step forward in the process of national reconciliation. India will continue to support moves towards an early political settlement to address the ethnic issue.

As I look back on the remarkable progress made in bilateral relations over the past year, I am filled with optimism for the future of our relationship and look forward to working towards taking it to the next level.

Colombo

1. On the eve of our 64th Republic Day, I extend warm greetings to all of you in India and abroad. I convey my special greetings to members of our armed forces, paramilitary forces and internal security forces.

2. India has changed more in last six decades than in six previous centuries. This is neither accidental nor providential; history shifts its pace when touched by vision. The great dream of raising a new India from the ashes of colonialism reached a historic denouement in 1947; more important, independence became a turning point for an equally dramatic narrative, nation-building. The foundations were laid through our Constitution, adopted on 26 January 1950, which we celebrate each year as Republic Day. Its driving principle was a compact between state and citizen, a powerful public-private partnership nourished by justice, liberty and equality. India did not win freedom from the British in order to deny freedom to Indians. The Constitution represented a second liberation, this time from the stranglehold of traditional inequity in gender, caste, community, along with other fetters that had chained us for too long.

3. This inspired a Cultural Evolution which put Indian society on the track to modernity: society changed in a gradual evolution, for violent revolution is not the Indian way. Change across the knotted weaves of the social fabric remains a work in progress, impelled by periodic reform in law and the momentum of popular will.

4. In the last six decades there is much that we can be proud of. Our economic growth rate has more than tripled. The literacy rate has increased by over four times. After having attained self sufficiency, now we are net exporters of food-grain. Significant reduction in the incidence of poverty has been achieved. Among our other major achievements is the drive towards gender equality.

5. No one suggested this would be easy. The difficulties that accompanied the first quantum leap, the Hindu code bill, enacted in 1955 tell their own story. It needed the unflinching commitment of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar to push through this remarkable legislation. Jawaharlal Nehru would later describe this as perhaps the most important achievement of his life. The time has now come to ensure gender equality for every Indian woman. We can neither evade nor abandon this national commitment, for the price of neglect will be high. Vested interests do not surrender easily. The civil society and the government must work together to fulfill this national goal.

Fellow Citizens:

6. I speak to you when a grave tragedy has shattered complacency. The brutal rape and murder of a young woman, a woman who was symbol of all that new India strives to be, has left our hearts empty and our minds in turmoil. We lost more than a valuable life; we lost a dream. If today young Indians feel outraged, can we blame our youth?

7. There is a law of the land. But there is also a higher law. The sanctity of a woman is a directive principle of that larger edifice called Indian civilization. The Vedas say that there is more than one kind of mother: birth mother, a guru's wife, a king's wife, a priest's wife, she who nurses us, and our motherland. Mother is our protection from evil and oppression, our symbol of life and prosperity. When we brutalise a woman, we wound the soul of our civilization.

8. It is time for the nation to reset its moral compass. Nothing should be allowed to spur cynicism, as cynicism is blind to morality. We must look deep into our conscience and find out where we have faltered. The solutions to problems have to be found through discussion and conciliation of views. People must believe that governance is an instrument for good and for that, we must ensure good governance.

Fellow Citizens:

9. We are on the cusp of another generational change; the youth of India spread across villages and towns, are in the vanguard of change. The future belongs to them. They are today troubled by a range of existential doubts. Does the system offer due reward for merit? Have the powerful lost their Dharma in pursuit of greed? Has corruption overtaken morality in public life? Does our legislature reflect emerging India or does it need radical reforms? These doubts have to be set at rest. Elected representatives must win back the confidence of the people. The anxiety and restlessness of youth has to be channelized towards change with speed, dignity and order.

10. The young cannot dream on an empty stomach. They must have jobs capable of serving their own as well as the nation's ambitions. It is true that we have come a long way from 1947, when our first Budget had a revenue of just over Rs.171 crore. The resource base of the Union government today is an ocean compared to that drop. But we must ensure that the fruits of economic growth do not become the monopoly of the privileged at the peak of a pyramid. The primary purpose of wealth creation must be to drive out the evil of hunger, deprivation and marginal subsistence from the base of our expanding population.

Fellow Citizens:

11. Last year has been a testing time for us all. As we move ahead on the path of economic reforms, we must remain alive to the persisting problems of market-dependent economies. Many rich nations are now trapped by a culture of entitlement without social obligations; we must avoid this trap. The results of our policies should be seen in our villages, farms and factories, schools and hospitals. Figures mean nothing to those who do not benefit from them. We must act immediately, otherwise the current pockets of conflict, often described as "Naxalite" violence, could acquire far more dangerous dimensions.

Fellow Citizens:

12. In the recent past, we have seen serious atrocities on the Line of Control on our troops. Neighbours may have disagreements; tension can be a subtext of frontiers. But sponsorship of terrorism through non-state actors is a matter of deep concern to the entire nation. We believe in peace on the border and are always ready to offer a hand in the hope of friendship. But this hand should not be taken for granted.

Fellow Citizens:

13. India's most impregnable asset is self-belief. Each challenge becomes an opportunity to strengthen our resolve to achieve unprecedented economic growth and social stability. Such resolve must be nourished by an avalanche of investment, particularly in better and greater education. Education is the ladder that can help those at the bottom to rise to the pinnacles of professional and social status. Education is the mantra that can transform our economic fortunes and eliminate the gaps that have made our society unequal. So far education has not reached, to the extent desired, to those most in need of this ladder. India can double its growth rate by turning today's disadvantaged into multiple engines of economic development.

14. On our 64th Republic Day, there may be some reason for concern, but none for despair. If India has changed more in six decades than six previous centuries, then I promise you that it will change more in the next ten years than in the previous sixty. India´s enduring vitality is at work.

15. Even the British sensed that they were leaving a land which was very different from the one they had occupied. At the base of the Jaipur Column in Rashtrapati Bhavan there is an inscription:

“In thought faith...
In word wisdom...
In deed courage...
In life service...
So may India be great”

The spirit of India is written in stone.

JAI HIND!

Colombo

Hon’ble Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka,

Friends from the Media,

I have just concluded very useful and productive discussions with Minister Prof. Peiris on the entire gamut of bilateral relations.Prof. Peiris and I have also co-Chaired the 8th session of the Joint Commission Meeting.

We have noted that bilateral cooperation during the past three years has seen significant expansion coveringall areas of mutual interest. The signing today of two Agreements relating to Combating International Terrorism and Illicit Drug Trafficking.

During the Joint Commission, we comprehensively reviewed bilateral relations, including trade, investment and services, development cooperation, science and technology, power, agriculture, health, people-to-people contacts, connectivity, tourism, culture and education.

We noted with satisfaction that India is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner and Sri Lanka is India’s largest trade partner in South Asia. India is the largest foreign direct investor in Sri Lanka, and also contributes to the largest number of tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans also make up a significant proportion of tourists and pilgrims visiting India.

Given the vast untapped potential, we have stressed the need for intensive consultations towards a more comprehensive framework for economic cooperation and building of a special economic partnership. We are working on setting up of a Special Economic Zone in Trincomalee and a pharmaceutical and a textiles cluster elsewherein Sri Lanka.

I have conveyed India’s readiness to support Sri Lanka’s endeavor in capacity building in Science & Technology, Agriculture, ICT, education and health sector. We agreed to enhance cooperation in the energy sector. We are already discussing finalization of major mutually beneficial projects in power and oil & gas Sectors. We look forward to enhanced cooperation in new and renewable energy, civil nuclear energy and space technology in future.

India and Sri Lanka enjoy a growing defence relationship built on extensive training and Service-to-Service linkages. We have today reviewed our mutual strategic interests, in view of the commonality of concerns, including with respect to the safety and security of sea lanes of communication.We agreed to promote dialogue on security and defence issues of relevance in bilateral as well as in regional context.

We noted that the successful exposition of the sacred Kapilavastu relics and the celebrations of 150 years of Guru Rabindranath Tagore’s anniversary in Sri Lanka have significantly enriched our bilateral cultural relations.

The JCM agreed on the need to extend humane treatment and abjure violence against fishermen of our two countries. We welcomed the decisions of two meetings of Joint Working Group on Fishing held in 2011 and 2012, and also theoutcomes of meetings between representatives of Fishermen's Associations, and the work towards concluding a MoU on Development and Cooperation in the Field of Fisheries.

The need for both sides to adhere to thePractical Arrangements on Fishing of 2008, which had helped to decrease incidents on the International Maritime Boundary Line, has beenduly noted. Both sideshave placed great emphasis on the safety of our fishermen and the need to continue to ensure that violence is not resorted to under any circumstances.

I have conveyed India’s commitment to the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka. We have made good progress in implementing comprehensive bilateral agenda set out by our Prime Minister and the President of Sri Lanka in June 2010. Projects of bilateral development assistance have progressed well, including construction of 50,000 houses for IDPs, with the fullest cooperation of the Government of Sri Lanka. Our livelihood generation and reconstruction efforts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka have had a positive impact on the ground.

In my separate discussions with Foreign Minister Peiris, I have referred to the need for continued dialogue between the Government of Sri Lanka and the representatives of the Sri Lankan Tamil community, with a view towards ensuring a future for the Tamil community that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect all of which are respected by Sri Lanka.We hope that there will be early progress on meaningful devolution building upon the 13thAmendment and leading to national reconciliation.

I am confident that given our geographical proximity and millennial links, a much closer and more comprehensive relationship beckons us. The visit of Minister Peiris and our discussions today have opened avenues for taking full and furtheradvantage of the opportunities open before us.

Thank you.

New Delhi

January 22, 2013