Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed a special session in Guyana Parliament wherein he said the two nations have deep rooted historical ties steeped in “soil, sweat and diligence”.
This is the first visit by an Indian PM to Guyana is 56 years.
Guyana is the final leg of the PM’s three-nation tour, which saw him visit Nigeria and then Brazil for the G20 Summit.
“The relation of India and Guyana is very deep, it is the relation of soil, sweat, diligence. Around 180 years ago, an Indian came to Guyana land and after that, both in happiness and sadness, India and Guyana’s relation has been filled with intimacy,” he told Guyanese legislators
He also noted that despite the two nations having shared similar struggles for the last 200-250 years, they are emerging as strong democracies in the world.
“Today both countries are strengthening democracy in the world. That’s why, in the Guyanese Parliament, I am greeting you all on behalf of 140 crore people of India,” he said.
The PM also emphasized on global good and presented a mantra of ‘Democracy First, Humanity First’.
He expressed that the spirit of “Democracy First” encourages collective progress and involves everyone in the journey of development. “Humanity First” serves as a guiding principle for our decisions, and when we base our actions on this philosophy, the outcomes ultimately benefit all of humanity, he added.
He said that India is also fulfilling its duty as a ‘Vishwa Bandhu’, being first responder in times of crisis.
Modi urged that space and sea should be subjects of “universal cooperation”, rather than universal conflict.
Modi also highlighted India has neither ” moved forward with selfishness, expansionist attitude”, and nor it has had any feeling of capturing resources.
“We have never moved forward with the idea of expansionism. We have always stayed away from the idea of resource capturing. I believe whether it is space or sea, this should be the subject of universal cooperation, not universal conflict. For the world also, this is not time for conflict, this is the time to identify the conditions that create conflicts and remove it,” he said.
He asserted that it is “time for awakening of the Global South“, and for its member nations to unite in order to create a new global order.
The PM underlined, “Bharat says, every nation matters” indicating that India sees island nations not as small countries but as significant ocean countries.
PM Modi landed in Guyana on Wednesday. During this visit, PM Modi was joined by leaders from the Caribbean partner countries for the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit.