- Excellencies
- Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured to address this year’s Raisina Dialogue.
I thank Prime Minister Modi, the Government of India, and the Observer Research Foundation for the invitation.
I was very much looking forward to joining you physically.
But the need to hold this year’s event in a virtual format, highlights the reality, that the Covid-19 pandemic is not yet over.
Covid is a public health crisis, but it is also a crisis of international cooperation.
Access to vaccines is highly unequal. In a situation of scarcity, power and wealth will always set the tempo.
India, despite its own challenges, has produced most of the vaccine doses sent to Africa, under Covax and related programs.
Without India’s production capacity and spirit of solidarity, it is possible that Africa would not yet have received much vaccine at all.
This unsustainable situation demonstrates the opportunity for more ambitious private-sector investments between India and Africa, in pharmaceutical manufacturing, among other areas.
The relationship between India and Rwanda continues to flourish, and our goal is to further deepen our ties.
Rwanda and India continue to collaborate on important infrastructure and development initiatives.
The key objective is to increase the educational and employment opportunities available to young people in both India and Rwanda.
Knowledge, innovation, and the green economy will still be the key drivers of growth after the pandemic.
The Observer Research Foundation’s annual Kigali Global Dialogue is another good example.
This event brings a fresh perspective to global debates on development and growth and attests to the increasing multipolarity of our world. I hope that many of you will come to Kigali for the next edition in 2022.
In the meantime, I wish you fruitful deliberations at this year’s Raisina Dialogue, and I thank you.