On the occasion of 64th Anniversary of India’s Republic Day, I greet all the Indian citizens in Algeria and all Algerians.
2. India and Algeria have very strong and historical bilateral relations. This is evident from the fact that when Algeria celebrated its 50 Years of Independence last year, it was the 50th Anniversary of Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between India and Algeria. In fact, these relations even go prior to both countries gaining independence when in 1926 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who became later the first Prime Minister of Independent India, met Dr. Messali Hadji in Geneva in an International Conference against Colonialism in 1926. India recognized Algeria as a nation in the Bandung Summit and the first Bureau of Algeria was opened in New Delhi in 1959 by Farhat Abbas.
3. After their respective independence, the two nations have worked together in the area of Non-Alignment, South-South Cooperation, Anti-Apartheid and Anti-Colonial Struggle, etc. At multilateral fora, both countries have identical views for betterment of the developing and underdeveloped countries, and have cooperated with each other. The shining examples of this cooperation are Algeria’s support for India’s Non-Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council and the recent support provided by India for Algeria’s election to the UN Council for Human Rights.
4. On commercial and economic front, both countries have done well with each other though still a large potential exists. India is an energy-deficit country, whereas Algeria has surplus oil and natural gas. There is also possibility of establishing joint ventures for production of natural fertilizers for captive export to India. India can also assist Algeria in the field of construction, pharmaceuticals, information & communication technology, development of infrastructure, power transmission, railways and hospitality industry. A roadmap for further development of cooperation between India and Algeria was proposed by the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, H.E. Mr. E. Ahamad to Algerian Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Abdelmalek Sellal during the former’s visit to Algeria in April 2013. A delegation from Algerian Oil, Natural Gas and Fertilizers sectors also visited India in the month of June last year, and a high-level Defence Delegation was in New Delhi in October 2013.
5. India and Algeria had their 4th Session of Foreign Office Consultations in Algiers in October 2013, where views were exchanged at the level of Director Generals of their respective Foreign Ministries. India is likely to participate as a Guest of Honour for the 2015 Algiers International Trade Fair.
6. On the cultural front, there have been in the past exchanges of cultural troupes, and we wish to maintain this rhythm since Indian culture is well known in Algeria, especially through Bollywood films, and ‘Jaane Tu’ is almost a national song in Algeria. We also wish to host a Festival of Algerian Cinema in India. Needless to state that ‘Battle of Algiers’ is well known with Indian movie-lovers.
7. I take this opportunity, once again, to greet my fellow citizens in Algeria and my Algerian brothers & sisters on this occasion of the 64th Anniversary of India’s Republic Day. I also wish the Algerian Football team best of their performance in the forthcoming World Cup in Brazil.
(K.S. Bhardwaj)
Ambassador
