Message from Ambassador
I express my greetings to all the
Indians in Algeria
and to my Algerian brothers and sisters on this occasion of 62nd
Anniversary of India’s Proclamation as a Republic. The year 2012 is going to mark the 50 years
of Algerian Independence and also 50 years of diplomatic relations between India and Algeria.
2. India
and Algeria
have historical and close relations which have been further cemented over the
last 50 years. Even before Algeria became independent, India supported Algeria’s struggle and in fact the
first contacts between Algerian nationalists and Pandit Nehru were recorded in
1926. India
recognized Algeria as an
independent nation during Bandung Summit and the first Bureau of Algeria was
opened by Farhad Abbas in 1959 in New
Delhi.
3. Politically, the two nations are very
close and have worked together for Non-Alignment, South-South Cooperation,
North-South Dialogue and anti-colonial struggle. We have always cooperated and collaborated at
United Nations, World Bank, IMF and other international and multinational
fora.
4. On cultural front, we have very close
cooperation. India participated in the “Tlemcen
: Islamic Capital of the World – 2011” in November last year where an Indian
dance troupe, a Quran reciter and an Arabic calligraphist participated. We also mounted a Photo Exhibition on Islamic
Heritage of India. I do not need to
remind you that India
is home to 140 million Muslims, the second largest population of Muslims in the
world. We also showed Indian cinema with
Muslim background such as Mughal-e-Azam, Pakeeza, Jodha Akbar etc. during this manifestation. We have also brought three cultural troupes
on different occasions last year, and I am happy to announce that today we have
with us a troupe from the State of Punjab,
which has already performed in Skikda and is going to perform in Tlemcen and in
Algiers in the
coming days. The people-to-people
contact through cultural manifestations is very important. During this year, when we mark 50 years of
diplomatic relations between our two countries, we will further strengthen
these contacts through exchange of cultural troupes, cinema and other
manifestations.
5. On commercial and economic front, our
trade has reached almost US$3 billion but still a large potential is
there. India
being an energy deficit country and Algeria with surplus in oil and
gas, there exists a synergy. We had
signed two long-term agreements for supply of oil and are negotiating with
Sonatrach long-term supply of LNG to India. There are 15 Indian companies working in Algeria
in diverse fields but still large scope of investment exists, especially in
pharmaceuticals, information & communication technology and construction
sector.
6. I take this opportunity, once again, to
greet all the Indians in Algeria
and the Algerians on this occasion of 62nd Anniversary of India’s
Republic Day.
(K.S.
Bhardwaj) Ambassador
