Shri Pranab Mukherjee
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1 Let me first welcome you to this Distinguished Public Lecture. It is my honour and privilege this afternoon to introduce India's Minister of External Affairs, His Excellency Shri Pranab Mukherjee, who will share with us his perspectives of India's Foreign Policy Priorities.
2 Minister Mukherjee has had a long and distinguished parliamentary career spanning almost four decades. He became a part of the Union Cabinet in 1973 as Deputy Minister for Industrial Development. He has held a range of ministerial portfolios over the years including Finance, Commerce, and Defence making him probably the most experienced Cabinet Minister in India today. This is his second appointment as the Minister of External Affairs, having previously held the post from 1995 to 1996.
3 Shri Mukherjee is one of the most respected leaders in the Congress Party. When India's new SEZ policy ran into political difficulties early this year, he was charged to chair the Group of Ministers which reviewed the policy and its implementation, making sure that the right balance was struck between development and equity.
4 According to Rasheed Kidwai, Sonia Gandhi's biographer, "Congress leaders regard him (Pranab Mukherjee) as a living encyclopedia. He is an authority on all subjects from food processing to culture to diplomacy to social policies." Others describe him as having "a reputation as a number-crunching politician with a phenomenal memory and an unerring survival instinct." Despite his busy schedule, he never looks hurried. Somehow, he has been able to find time to read all kinds of books and to keep a diary. In a recent interview, Minister Mukherjee recounted how the diaries he had written from the beginning of his career till 1986 were destroyed by a flood. He was understandably devastated and stopped writing for two years until Narasimha Rao told him that he should continue. He has now taken precautions by moving his recent writings to higher ground where "it will take a deluge to harm the books now."
5 On the evening of 7 April this year, while he was traveling from Murshidabad to Kolkata, Shri Mukherjee was involved in a car accident. But it takes more than a car accident to put him down. The following day, he issued a statement saying "I am well but doctors advised me 48-hours rest. I hope to be back to work after that period". In fact, his collar bone was fractured and he needed twenty-two stitches for a head wound. But he was back at work on the third day after doctors declared him fit. The doctors must have come under some pressure to say so. His staff assured my staff that his bilateral visit to Singapore would not be affected which proved to be the case.
6 And, so, Shri Mukherjee, we are delighted that you are here with us today. You are among friends and relatives. Between India and Singapore, our relations are growing from strength to strength across a wide spectrum. As India's "Look East" policy unfurls, Singapore is a natural partner for your great country, a role which we had positioned for ourselves since Narasimha Rao's new policy of economic reform in 1991. It was the British Raj in India which established Singapore as a trading post for the China trade in the 19th century. As we enter a new age of globalisation in the 21st century, Singapore will once again be a hub for resurgent East-West trade.
7 Shri Mukherjee, we have no doubts that India will play a growing role in regional and international affairs in the coming years. For this reason, Singapore supports India as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. In December 2005, India became a member of the newly-formed East Asia Summit. Singapore has long been an advocate of India's strategic engagement of our region. The Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which was signed between our two countries in June 2005 facilitated the negotiation of India's FTA with ASEAN.
8 Let me now call upon His Excellency, Minister Pranab Mukherjee, to share with us his insights on "India's Foreign Policy Priorities".
. . . . .