Ambassador Speeches

Embassy of India

Bishkek

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Address by Ambassador to the Indian Diaspora on 15 August, 2023

Members of the Indian Community,

My colleagues in the Embassy,

Dear Students,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen.

Good morning!

It is my privilege to welcome all of you to the Embassy and convey my greetings and best wishes on the occasion of the 77^th Independence of India. I take this opportunity to also welcome the students who have joined the medical universities in the Kyrgyz Republic and wish them success in their academic pursuit.

Today marks the culmination of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ which, as you would remember, started on 12^th March, 2021 to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence of India and the glorious history of our people, culture and achievements. Embassy of India in Bishkek also organized several programmes during the last 75 weeks to mark this important milestone in the journey of independent India.

As you know, Hon'ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation yesterday on the eve of the Independence Day. You would have listened to her and might have read her message as well. We have circulated her address through the social media outlets of the Embassy. I shall now read out a few sections of her address.

Our Embassy lays special emphasis on the welfare and well-being of our Diaspora in the Kyrgyz Republic including our students. We have set-up an Emergency Helpline number 0555710041 where you can reach us at any time of the day. It is available 24 hours a day and on seven days of the week. This number has been provided on the website of our Embassy. A Weekly Open House is held here at the Embassy every Wednesday between 4 and 5 pm. In case you have any matter of concern and need our assistance, you may visit the Embassy and meet our officials during the Open House. Visitors are requested to bring their passport for identity proof whenever they visit this Embassy.

We have been making efforts to gather data about the Indian nationals in the Kyrgyz Republic to enable us to reach out to you directly in the event of any emergency. My request to the students here is to register on the MADAD portal of the Ministry of External Affairs, the link for which is available on the Embassy’s website. Others are requested to send us an email conveying your name, address and contact number along with other relevant details so that we can update our existing database with the current information.

Safety of our nationals is of utmost importance. Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic has in the past visited various universities where 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 advise that you adhere to these recommendations.

The Indian Diaspora abroad are ambassadors of the culture and civilization of India and plays an important role in spreading India’s soft power among the local community. During the course of my tenure during the last one year, I have had the opportunity of visiting medical universities here and meeting and interacting with several of you. I am happy to see that the Indian community members in the Kyrgyz Republic, including our students, have adapted very well in this country. Not only do you speak Kyrgyz fluently, I have heard some of you sing in the Kyrgyz language! At the same time, you must continue to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and our unity in diversity. We will continue to encourage efforts being made to bring the Indian community on a common platform.

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

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