Prime Minister's statement to the Media during his visit to Seychelles

Published By : Admin | March 11, 2015 | 12:28 IST

Thank you, President Michel, for your kind words.

I am deeply touched by your extraordinary hospitality and warmth.

I regret that this is a very short visit. I would have loved to stay longer. Anyone who visits this wonderful country will find it hard to leave.

Short it may be, but this visit has been very productive.

684-6.1 PM Modi MEDIA SPEECH with President James Michel of Seychelles

It is no surprise that Seychelles is my first destination in the Indian Ocean Region.

We regard Seychelles as a vital partner in our Indian Ocean neighbourhood.

Our relationship is unique and special. It is founded on deep sense of mutual trust and confidence. It is marked by a spirit of respect and equality; and enormous goodwill and warmth.

It draws strength from our shared values of democracy and inclusiveness. It is nurtured by a common purpose - progress of our people and peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region.

Seychelles has made impressive progress. It has shown that size is no barrier to the scale of achievements.

This visit and my conversation with President Michel have reinforced my conviction in the strength and the importance of this relationship.

Our security partnership is strong. It has enabled us to fulfill our shared responsibility to advance maritime security in the region.

It is a privilege to be a partner of Seychelles in the development of its security capabilities.

Today, I am pleased to announce that we will be giving one more Dornier aircraft to Seychelles.

Later today, I will have the honour to launch the Coastal Surveillance Radar Project. This is another symbol of our cooperation.

These steps will enable Seychelles to secure these beautiful islands and the vast expanse of waters around them. Seychelles will also continue to make an enormous contribution to the safety and security of the Indian Ocean Region.

Our agreement today on hydrographic survey adds a new dimension to our maritime cooperation. I thank Seychelles for their confidence in India.

We also hope that Seychelles will soon be a full partner in the maritime security cooperation between India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

President Michel and I also underlined the importance of comprehensive cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region. We expressed support for a more active and productive Indian Ocean Rim Association.

Our development partnership is also a strong pillar of our relations.

Our agreement today on the development of infrastructure in the Assumption Island gives a strong boost to this partnership.

We are pleased to be a partner in development of human resources and capacity building in Seychelles. Indeed, Seychelles is one of the largest recipients of Indian assistance in this area. We intend to expand this further in the future.

Seychelles is a leader in advancing the concept of Blue Economy. We also believe that the Ocean Economy is indispensable to meeting our future challenges.

684-6 PM Modi with President James Michel of Seychelles at Exchange of Agreement (1)

Today, President Michel and I have agreed to establish a Joint Working Group to expand our cooperation on the blue economy.

This cooperation will increase our understanding of marine ecology and resources. We will improve our ability to harness new possibilities of the ocean in a sustainable and balanced manner.

This is a major step in advancing our scientific and economic cooperation.

We stressed our support for expansion in our modest trade and investment relations. We are confident that we can achieve it, especially as Seychelles looks to a future in which information technology and services play an increasingly important role.

I also expressed hope that Seychelles would be able to quickly utilize the committed 75 million dollars in grants and credit in accordance with its priorities.

We deeply value the close and warm ties between our people. I welcomed the launch of direct air services to India by Air Seychelles last December.

We have decided to grant free visas for three months to the citizens of Seychelles. We will also extend to you the facility of visa-on-arrival.

I thanked President Michel for his Government`s consistent support to India in international forums. This includes the endorsement for India`s permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.

We had strong convergence of views on climate change. We are two nations that are vulnerable to its impact. And, we are deeply committed to combating it.

684-6 PM Modi with President James Michel of Seychelles at Exchange of Agreement (2)

We stressed our shared commitment to strong national action. We also called for a strong and ambitious global effort, especially from the developed world, on climate change.

I reiterated our consistent support to the position of the Small Island Developing States. Equally, I renewed India`s strong commitment to our partnership with Africa.

Our relationship is a powerful example of warm friendship and productive partnership. For India, this relationship means a lot.

This visit has reinforced the special warmth in our ties and taken our strategic partnership to a new level. I am grateful to President Michel and the people of Seychelles for this.

I look forward to the visit of President Michel to India at the earliest.

Thank you.

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Principal Secretary Shri P. K. Mishra, Chairman of Karmayogi Bharat Shri S. Ramadorai, Chairperson of the Capacity Building Commission S. Radha Chauhan, Other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen!

My heartfelt congratulations to all of you on the occasion of Karmayogi Sadhana Week. In this era of the 21st century, with rapidly changing systems, a swiftly transforming world, and India advancing at the same pace, it is essential to continuously update public service in line with the times. Karmayogi Sadhana Week is an important step in this effort. You are all familiar with the principle of governance we are pursuing today, whose core mantra is Citizen Devo Bhava. With this spirit, the focus is now on making public service more capable and more sensitive to citizens. Governance is being given a new identity by making it citizen-centric.

Friends,

A major principle of success is not to shorten someone else’s line, but to lengthen your own. Since independence, many institutions in our country have worked with different focuses, but there was a need for one institution dedicated to capacity building-one that could enhance the abilities of every employee, every karmayogi working in government. This vision gave birth to the Capacity Building Commission (CBC). On its foundation day today, this new beginning, along with the successful role of iGOT Mission Karmayogi, is giving our efforts manifold energy. I am confident that through these initiatives, we will succeed in building a team of modern, capable, dedicated, and sensitive karmayogis.

Friends,

A few weeks ago, during the inauguration of Seva Teerth, I had also spoken to you in detail about the resolve of a developed India. To achieve this goal, we need fast economic growth, modern infrastructure and technology, and a large skilled workforce. In achieving these targets, the role of our public institutions and public servants is crucial. We are all witnessing and experiencing how aspirational today’s India is. Every citizen has their own dreams and goals, and it is our responsibility to provide maximum support in fulfilling them. Our governance must ensure that citizens’ ease of living and quality of life improve day by day. That is our benchmark. For this, you must learn something new every day and embody the spirit of karmayogi.

Friends,

When we speak of reforms and changes in administrative services, it also means a change in the behavior of public servants. We all know that in the old system, emphasis was placed more on being an officer. But today, the country emphasizes duty-importance lies not in position, but in work. The Constitution grants us rights through our duties. If, before every decision, you ask yourself what your duty demands, the impact of your decisions will automatically multiply. I repeat once again: we must view our present efforts on the canvas of the future. 2047, a developed India-that is our canvas, that is our goal. We must ask ourselves: what impact will our work today have on the nation’s development journey? How many citizens’ lives can change through one decision? How can individual transformation become institutional transformation? These questions must be part of every effort. From my experience, I can say that this requires immense energy, and such energy can only come from a spirit of service.

Friends,

When we talk about learning, technology becomes extremely important in today’s context. You have all seen how, in the past 11 years, technology has been integrated into governance and administration. From governance and delivery to the economy, we have witnessed the power of the tech revolution. With the advent of AI, this change will accelerate even further. Therefore, understanding technology and using it correctly has become an essential part of public service. The best administrators and public servants will now be those who understand technology and data. This will form the basis of decision-making. Hence, efforts are being made to facilitate capacity building and continuous learning in the field of AI. Your participation and involvement in this are very important. I hope that Karmayogi Sadhana Week will focus equally on this subject.

Friends,

In our federal structure, the success of the nation means the collective success of the states. For decades, states were categorized as advanced, backward, or sick. Today, we are ending all such definitions. We must bridge every gap between states, and this will only happen when every state works with equal intensity. We must break silos and move forward with better coordination and shared understanding. For this, we need a whole-of-government approach. If both government and bureaucracy adopt this approach, every mission will succeed. Karmayogi Sadhana Week is an effort to ensure exactly this.

Friends,

We must always remember that for the common citizen, the local office is the face of the government. Your working style, your behavior-these determine citizens’ trust in democracy and constitutional systems. Therefore, whatever we do, at whichever level, we must preserve that trust. Once again, I congratulate the entire team of the Capacity Building Commission. I am confident that Karmayogi Sadhana Week will become an important chapter in our journey towards a developed India.

Thank you very much.

Namaskar.