66th Republic Day of India, 26 January 2015
The Indian national flag was hoisted at the Embassy of India, Moscow on the 66th Republic Day of India. Floral tributes were offered at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Ambassador P.S. Raghavan read out the President’s Address to the nation. Children from Embassy of India School sang patriotic songs. Around 150 members of the Indian community and Russian friends of India were present.
At the Republic Day reception at Ritz Carlton Hotel Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, H.E. Igor Morgulov was the Guest of Honour. The reception was attended by about 800 guests from Russian government, scientific, cultural, economic, media and educational institutions, diplomatic corps and Indian community.
In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador spoke about the progress that India has made since it became a Republic in 1950. He said the new Indian government elected in 2014 with a decisive Parliamentary majority has committed itself to reinvigorating India’s economic growth with equitable development. It has launched a number of initiatives to tackle India’s socioeconomic challenges through domestic reform and international engagement. Ambassador noted that Russia occupies a special place in India’s international engagement. During President Putin’s visit to India in December 2014, the vibrancy of our strategic partnership was confirmed and a vision articulated for the future course of bilateral cooperation. The schedule of meetings in 2015 confirms the resolve to strengthen our strategic partnership.
In his address, DFM Morgulov spoke about the dynamic development that has taken place in India since independence. He said that India has emerged as an important and responsible country in ensuring world stability. India and Russia share identical or similar views on global developments. DFM Morgulov mentioned the successful visit of President Putin to India, adding that bilateral cooperation in strategic areas such as defence, nuclear energy and space continue to strengthen, as also cooperation in other areas such as culture and people-to-people contacts. He said that Russia supports India’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.
The Russian students of Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre of the Embassy put up a cultural performance of Indian classical and folk dances at the reception.
