Once seen just as a huge market, India has now become a hub for investment and trade, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that the country is now being seen by countries like the UK, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, Oman, the EU, and the USA as a trusted partner for growth.
Addressing the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur during his two-day visit to Malaysia, the prime minister said India has seen massive transformation over the past 10 years. In 2015, India was the 11th-largest economy; it is now “knocking on the doors of the top three,” Modi said.
Trust has become India’s strongest currency, the prime minister said.
Modi said that 1.4 billion Indians are committed to building a developed India by 2047. He emphasised that the nation’s success would depend on turning aspirations into firm resolutions and carrying them through to completion. He also highlighted the important role of the Indian diaspora in this effort, noting that regardless of whether they were born in Kuala Lumpur or Kolkata, India lives in their hearts.
Message for poll-bound Tamil Nadu?
The prime minister also appeared to use the address to send a message to poll-bound Tamil Nadu as he spoke about his admiration for the Tamil language, saying it is India’s gift to the world.
“Tamil literature is eternal, and Tamil culture is global. Tamil people have served humanity with their talents. I proudly say, India’s Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan, our Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sritharaman, who has presented the Union budget nine times, and Dr L. Murugan, our minister of state for information and broadcasting, are all from Tamil Nadu,” Modi was quoted as saying.
Pointing out that members of the Tamil diaspora in Malaysia are serving society across various fields and that they have been in the country for many years, he said, “Inspired by this history, we are proud to have established the Tiruvalluvar Chair at the University of Malaya. We will now set up a Tiruvalluvar Centre to further strengthen our shared heritage.”
PM Modi and his Malaysian counterpart, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, will hold wide-ranging talks on Sunday that are expected to produce a number of agreements to further expand cooperation between the two nations.