NEW DELHI, Sept 12:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India’s relations with Africa were defined by emotions, values and interests and the two were united by a shared destiny even though an ocean separated them.
“An ocean separates us but a shared destiny unites us. Ours is a natural partnership between people with common concerns and values. It is imperative for our progress and development and for shaping a world that accommodates our aspirations. We feel for Africa’s challenges, and we rejoice in the successes we see there,” the Prime Minister said at a function organised to confer the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia for 2012.
Lauding Ms Sirleaf’s role in transforming Liberia and being a symbol of a resurgent Africa, the Prime Minister said it was often easy to end a conflict, but hard to win enduring peace.
“It is sometimes easier to end violence and injustice, but more difficult to heal and to reconcile,” he said, pointing out that getting political freedom did not always lead to sustained democracy.
The Prime Minister assured Ms Sirleaf that India would be a reliable and enduring partner and friend in Liberia’s peaceful development.
“Our two nations are committed to forging a partnership that will demonstrate that neither asymmetry of size nor the challenge of distance matters, when nations with shared values and mutual respect work together for mutual benefit and the larger good of humanity,” Dr Singh added.
Paying glowing tributes to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, after whom the award is instituted, Dr Singh said she had laboured
tirelessly in the causes of peace and a just international order.
“Sustainability and inclusiveness were at the heart of Indira Gandhi’s vision of social and economic development. This is reflected in her pioneering emphasis on the protection of the human environment,” Dr Singh said.
He said her association with the African continent was reflected in the abiding friendships she built with its leaders and its people and she had crafted a modern vision of a relationship that was founded on an old bond between India and Africa.
The Prime Minister said Ms Sirleaf had made history as the first elected female Head of State in Africa.
She had set her country on the path of peace, stability, democracy and development after two decades of suppression, violence and conflict, Dr Singh said.
(UNI)
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