Namaskar! It is always a great honour to address the United States Congress. It is an exceptional privilege to do so twice. For this honour, I extend my deepest gratitude on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India.
Standing here, seven Junes ago, that’s the June when Hamilton swept all the awards, I said that the hesitations of history were behind us. Now, when our era is at a crossroads, I am here to speak about our calling for this century. Through the long and winding road that we have travelled, we have met the test of friendship. A lot has changed since I came here seven summers ago. But a lot has remained the same — like our commitment to deepen the friendship between India and the US. In the past few years, there have been many advances in AI, Artificial Intelligence. At the same time, there have been even more momentous developments in another AI — America and India.
Democracy is one of our sacred and shared values. It has evolved over a long time, and taken various forms and systems. Throughout history, however, one thing has been clear. Democracy is the spirit that supports equality and dignity. Democracy is the idea that welcomes debate and discourse. Democracy is the culture that gives wings to thought and expression. India is blessed to have such values from times immemorial. Millennia ago, our oldest scriptures said, “the truth is one but the wise express it in different ways”. The US is the oldest and India the largest democracy. Our partnership augurs well for the future of democracy. Together, we shall give a better future to the world, and a better world to the future.
Last year, India celebrated 75 years of its independence. We celebrated a remarkable journey of over 75 years of freedom, after a thousand years of foreign rule in one form or another. This was not just a celebration of democracy, but also of diversity. Not just of the Constitution, but also of its spirit of social empowerment. Not just of our competitive and cooperative federalism, but also of our essential unity and integrity.
We have over 2,500 political parties. About 20 different parties govern various states of India. We have 22 official languages and thousands of dialects, and yet, we speak in one voice. Every hundred miles, our cuisine changes. From dosa to aloo parantha and from srikhand to sandesh. We enjoy all of these. We are home to all faiths in the world, and we celebrate all of them. In India, diversity is a natural way of life.
Women sages composed many verses in the Vedas. And today, women are leading us to a better future. India’s vision is not just of development which benefits women. It is of women-led development. A woman has risen from a humble tribal background, to be our head of state. Nearly 1.5 million elected women lead us at various levels. Today, women serve our country in the Army, Navy and Air Force. India also has the highest percentage of women airline pilots in the world. I believe that investing in a girl child lifts up the entire family. Empowering women transforms the nation.
India is known for its traditions. But the younger generation is also making it a hub of technology. In India, technology is not only about innovation but also about inclusion. Today, digital platforms are empowering the rights and dignity of people, while protecting privacy. Last year, out of every 100 real-time digital payments in the world, 46 happened in India.
We became the only G20 country to meet its Paris commitment. At the Glasgow Summit, I proposed Mission LiFE — Lifestyle for Environment. This is a way to make sustainability a true people’s movement. The same spirit is also seen in the theme when we chair the G20 — “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.
When I speak about India’s approach to the world, the US occupies a special place. When defence and aerospace in India grow, industries in the states of Washington, Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania thrive. When American companies grow, their research and development centres in India thrive. When Indians fly more, a single order for aircraft creates more than a million jobs in 44 American states. When India and the US work together on semi-conductors and critical minerals, it helps the world in making supply chains more diverse, resilient and reliable. Indeed, we were strangers in defence cooperation at the turn of the century. Now, the US has become one of our most important defence partners.
I agree with President Biden that this is a defining partnership of this century. Because it serves a larger purpose. Democracy, demography and destiny give us that purpose.
One consequence of globalisation has been the over-concentration of supply chains. We will work together to diversify, decentralise, and democratise supply chains. Technology will determine security, prosperity and leadership in the 21st century. That is why our two countries established a new initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies. Our knowledge partnership will serve humanity and seek solutions to the global challenges of climate change, hunger and health.
With the Ukraine conflict, war has returned to Europe. Since it involves major powers, the outcomes are severe. Countries of the Global South have been particularly affected. As I have said, this is not an era of war. But, it is one of dialogue and diplomacy. And, we all must do what we can to stop the bloodshed and human suffering.
The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo-Pacific. The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership. We share a vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, connected by secure seas, defined by international law, free from domination, and anchored in ASEAN centrality. A region where all nations, small and large, are free and fearless in their choices, where progress is not suffocated by impossible burdens of debt, where connectivity is not leveraged for strategic purposes. We work through regional institutions and with our partners from within the region and beyond. Of this, the Quad has emerged as a major force of good for the region.
More than two decades after 9/11 and more than a decade after 26/11 in Mumbai, radicalism and terrorism remain a pressing danger. These ideologies keep taking new identities and forms, but their intentions are the same. We must overcome all such forces sponsoring and exporting terror.
As we emerge out of the pandemic, we must give shape to a new world order. Consideration, care and concern are the need of the hour. Giving a voice to the Global South is the way forward. That is why I firmly believe that the African Union should be given full membership of G20.
We must revive multilateralism and reform multilateral institutions, with better resources and representation. That applies to all our global institutions of governance, especially the UN. When the world has changed, our institutions too must change.
Today, we stand at a new dawn in our relationship that will not only shape the destiny of our two nations, but also that of the world. Our trusted partnership is like the sun in this new dawn that will spread light all around.
Together, we shall demonstrate that democracies matter and democracies deliver. When I was here in 2016, I had said that “our relationship is primed for a momentous future”. That future is today.God Bless America. Jai Hind. Long Live India-US friendship.
The writer is Prime Minister of India.
Edited excerpts of his speech to the US Congress, June 22
