Ambassador Speeches

Embassy of India

Bishkek

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Members of the Indian Community,

My colleagues in the Embassy,

Dear students,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Good morning!

Let me begin by conveying my greetings and best wishes to all of you on the 74th Republic Day of our country.

My greetings on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami being celebrated today. It is a day on which Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in many households and educational institutions in India as the Goddess of knowledge, music and learning.

I would like to welcome the students who have recently joined their medical universities here and wish them success in their endeavour.

As you are all aware, Hon'ble President of India addressed the nation yesterday on the eve of the Republic Day. You would have heard her and read her message. We have also made her address available through the social media handles of the Embassy. I would now like to go through excerpts of her address.

Friends, Issues relating to the welfare and well-being of our Diaspora including our students here is of utmost concern for the Government of India. On the issue of safety of Indians here, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic recently informed the Embassy that they have visited various universities where foreign, including Indian students, study in large numbers and have briefed them about what the students should do and what they should avoid doing for their personal safety. Those are equally applicable to our other Indian nationals as well. We recommend that you all adhere to these recommendations.

Friends, Data on Indian nationals is important for the Embassy, which can be used to approach the Diaspora Community directly in the event of any exigency. I would like to advise the student community, the young Ambassadors of India, to register on the MADAD portal of the Ministry of External Affairs, as soon as possible, the link for which is available on our Embassy’s website. We have also sought this information from your universities here. Others are requested to send us an email conveying their name, address and contact number along with other relevant details so that we can update our database with their latest information.

Friends, here at the Embassy, we have an Emergency Helpline number 0555710041 where you can reach us 24x7. A Weekly Open House is held at the Embassy every Wednesday between 4 and 5 pm. Those who have any issue may visit the Embassy and discuss it with officials during the Open House. Visitors are requested to bring their passport for identity proof.

Friends, the Hon'ble President has described the Pravasi Bharatiyas as great ambassadors of India's culture and civilization. This thought reverberated during the 17th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) held recently at Indore in Madhya Pradesh from 8-10 January 2023. The theme of this year’s PBD was “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”, which explains how much importance is given to Diaspora by the Government of India. Keeping this aspect in mind, I am confident that our Indian community in the Kyrgyz Republic, including our students, will keep our flag flying high by showcasing India’s rich cultural heritage and our unity in diversity while adapting to your lives in this country. We are glad that a beginning has been made by the Diaspora here in coming together which we saw in the organization of the Diwali function last year. You can play an important role in spreading India’s soft power among the local community.

With these words, I would like to once again convey my best wishes to all of you on this occasion and thank you for coming today despite being a working day here.

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