Ambassador’s Opening Remarks at the
Special Webinar on “India At 75”
To Mark the 75th Independence Day of India
12 August 2021
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His Excellency Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Hon’ble Vice Foreign Minister of Vietnam and all dignitaries joining us today,
I extend a warm welcome to all of you at this Special Webinar on “India At 75” to mark the Independence Day of India.
We will be commemorating the Independence Day on 15 August. It will be the 75th Independence Day of India and therefore, a special occasion for all Indians.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we are unable to hold any public event to mark this occasion, but we are happy to have you all online with us today.
We are honoured to have Vice Foreign Minister Dzung with us today. Excellency, your friendship for India and your contributions to India-Vietnam relations are greatly admired.
I also welcome Her Excellency Madame Nguyen Phuong Nga, President of Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations; Most Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and His Excellency Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism for joining us today.
We also have two former Ambassadors – Ambassador Ranjit Rae from India and Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh with us.
In addition, we are joined by senior dignitaries and scholars from friendship organizations, think-tanks, academia, cultural personalities and leaders of Indian diaspora.
The idea of this webinar is to capture different dimensions of India-Vietnam relations in today’s context, and we have a galaxy of experts speaking on various themes.
I welcome you all.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Seventy-five years is an important milestone in any country’s life. It is an important landmark for India too.
In India, 75 years ago, when we began the journey from the throes of underdevelopment, we were guided by our founding fathers, who gave us the Constitution and built institutions that have stood the test of time.
From then till today, when India is counted as one of the world’s largest economies, it has been a journey of reflection, achievements, aspirations and resolve.
We will be marking this milestone of 75th Independence Day, and the successive months till the 15th of August in 2023, as a sacred festival of Independence, what we call in the Hindi language as - Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. And we will be showing a short film on this theme during the course of our programme today.
We are happy that in the midst of these celebrations, we will be reaching another important milestone with our close friend and partner Vietnam – the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.
These 50 years, and even longer than that, has been a remarkable journey of togetherness for both India and Viet Nam, as both our countries not only overcame adversities, but also supported and inspired each other in their pursuit of nation-building.
It is therefore an occasion for us to also reaffirm our commitment to take our special relationship – our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership – with Vietnam to newer heights.
With these words, I welcome you all once again.
And it is my distinct honour to invite His Excellency Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Vice Foreign Minister of Vietnam to deliver his keynote address.
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https://vnews.gov.vn/video/truyen-thong-an-do-danh-gia-cao-vai-tro-cua-quoc-hoi-viet-nam-212190.htm
