It is truly a great privilege for me to be here at the Inauguration of the world’s largest industrial fair. It is a special honour to do so in the company of Chancellor Merkel, a great leader and friend of India.
First, I want to thank the city of Hannover and Hannover Messe. They have been most generous in allowing us to unleash our lions in this city. The lions are a symbol of a new India. They roar; but with a message of friendship and promise of partnership, from .25 billion people of India. This is also the message of 15 states, 20 CEOs and 350 companies from India participating in this Fair.
Your choice of India as a Partner Country reflects the new confidence in India. Our decision to be here in the first year of my Government reflects our priority:
We want to accelerate economic growth and create jobs for our youth.
We want to build world class industry and infrastructure.
We want to transform our cities and villages; clean up our environment; and improve the quality of life.
Our presence as a partner country says something else also. We will naturally pursue our goals on the strength of our own resources, skills and enterprise. But, we know that we will be more successful when we do this in partnership with the world. For people in India, Germany is a valued partner; and, an enduring symbol of technology and innovation, quality and productivity.
Even more, India and Germany share a close and warm relationship. It goes back centuries, in the intellectual journey of German scholars. It has grown in depth and diversity from our birth as modern Republics at the same time, Through the passage of history, Indians and Germans have formed a relationship of mutual fascination and goodwill.
It also includes a vibrant economic partnership that extends beyond the last century. Today, you can easily think of companies like Siemens as Indian! Nearly a hundred years ago, India’s great poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore said, that Germany has done more than any other country to open India to the Western World.
Today, I come to seek German partnership in my own mission to open up India’s seamless economic potential.To the industry of the world that has assembled here today, I say that we have no special bias for our host today! India is open and ready to embrace the world. As I have travelled around the world, I have seen a new level of interest in building partnerships of trade, investment and innovation in India. It mirrors the surge of hope in our own people and industry; the new tide of expectation in our 800 million youth – for opportunities and progress. And, if we want to fulfill the dreams of our youth, we must turn our industry into a manufacturing hub for the world and an engine for employment at home. And, we must equip our youth with the skills to meet the needs of our nation, and the demands of the globalised world.
Whatever we choose to do, from reaching the cutting edge of industry to meeting the most critical social need, we require investment and technology, industry and enterprise. That is why for me, Make in India is not a brand. Nor is it simply a slogan on a smart lion!
