PM Modi addresses Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Indore: ‘World looking up to India’

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention – this time in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore – and declared himself happy to see it organised in ‘the heart of India’.

This year’s Pravasi Bharatitya Divyas theme is ‘Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal’.

Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the president of the Republic of Suriname, and Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the president of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, were among the special guests, as was Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. More than 3,500 diaspora members – from 70 countries – registered for the event, news agency ANI said.

Here are prime minister Modi’s top quotes from his address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas:

1. This Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is special in many ways. The nation has entered ‘Amrit Kaal’ for the next 25 years and our Pravasi Bhartiya community has a significant role to play in further elevating India’s role on global levels.

.2. Each and every Pravasi Bhartiya present here has achieved unprecedented success in their respective fields. I’m happy that the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is being organised in Madhya Pradesh, which also is called the ‘Heart of India’.

3. I would like you all to relish food in Indore – a city which is known for its delicacies from namkeen to poha; everything here has an unforgettable taste. Chappan dukan is highly famous and the Sarafa market is a world-renowned venue.

4. The digital exhibition displaying our freedom struggle has been organised here and it brings the glorious era in front of you all again.

5. ‘Swadesho Bhuvantrayam’ means ‘for us, the whole world is our country, only human beings are our brothers and sisters’. It was on this ideological foundation that our forefathers shaped the cultural expansion of India.

6. We started an extraordinary tradition of global trade centuries ago. We crossed the seas that seemed limitless. India has shown how business relations between different countries and different civilizations can open the way for shared prosperity.

7. Your roles as India’s brand ambassadors are diverse. You all are brand ambassadors for ‘Make in India’, yoga, cottage industries, handicrafts as well as Indian millets. You all will address the world’s desire to know more about India. The whole world is keenly looking up to India for the unprecedented development it achieved during the last few years.

8. When the world assesses the contribution of our overseas Indians, it also hears the voice of a ‘strong and capable India’.

9. India is amongst the highest-growing world economies, as also the third-largest startup ecosystem and a leader in electronics and defence manufacturing in the world.

10. India’s new pace of development and global recognition makes every Indian proud. In the coming years, India will be an even stronger force to reckon with!