President Ghani’s Talk at VIF, 24 October 2017

Welcome Address by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF

H.E. President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, H.E. Salahuddin Rabbani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mohammad Hanif Atmar, National Security Advisor, H.E. Aklil Hakimi, Minister of Finance, H.E. Abul Salam Rahimi, Head of Staff of President Office, H.E. Nargis Nehan, Acting Mines and Petroleum Minister, H.E. Shehzad Akbar, Advisor to President, H.E. Dr Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Afghan Ambassador to India, Ambassadors and High commissioners and members of the Diplomatic Corps, Admiral KK Nayyar, the President of the Board of Trustees of Vivekananda International Foundation, friends from the Media, Distinguished Members of the Audience, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and my own behalf, I extend a warm welcome to you and the members of your delegation to the VIF. We are honored that your Excellency has found time from your busy schedule to engage with the public at the Foundation premises.

Excellency, your visit to India at this juncture is a reflection of the deepening of ties between our two countries governments and the people. India as always, stands with the people of Afghanistan in their endeavor to meet the myriad challenges they face. During your tenure as present you have contributed a great deal to the strengthening of relations between our two countries. Your commitment to strong India-Afghanistan ties and for peace and stability in the region is highly appreciated in this country. We are glad India and Afghanistan are witnessing an intense period of engagement. New areas of cooperation have emerged.

Excellency, last year speaking on the joint inauguration of the Salma Dam, PM Modi had said: “Your friendship is our honour; your dreams are our duty.” It is in this spirit of friendship we welcome you. We look forward to hearing from you.

Vote of Thanks

Excellencies, we have just heard President Ghani outline his vison for the future of Afghanistan, about the efforts his government is making to fight terrorism and the polices he has adopted to change the destiny of his people. We also are thankful to him for expounding on the latest initiatives for strengthening Indo-Afghan relations in the backdrop of the rapidly evolving regional situation, how India and Afghanistan cooperate to fight terrorism and how the two countries are working for the socio-economic development of Afghanistan. I am grateful to His Excellency and the members of his delegation for having visited VIF for this memorable talk.

I would also like to thank the members of the Indian strategic community, many of whom know the President and his team members personally, for their presence. I am grateful to the members of the media for their interest in covering the event. I would also like to express my appreciation of H.E. Shaida Abdali and the members of his team at the embassy for their cooperation in organizing this event at a short notice. For the same reason our thanks are due to the Ministry of External affairs for their support.

I would also like to thank the VIF team which worked tirelessly for organizing this event.

Excellency, your visit to India has further strengthened the bonds between or two people. Your talk today has informed us about current programmes and policies of your government. Thank you for that. I would request the audience to express their appreciation of the President by given a round of applause.
Thank you.

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