our Excellency Mr Chen,
President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries,
Your Excellency Mr. Jiang, President of the China-India Friendship Association
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a privilege for me to be in Beijing when the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China mark the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations. I am very happy to be with you to celebrate this occasion.

Sixty years ago our two countries were setting out on our respective journeys as two young nations. It was a time when we had both recently broken free from colonialism that had enslaved us and taken from us our energy and vitality. It was a time full of hope that we would regain for our great nations their rightful place in the world, when we could dream that our people would be free from oppression and want. India and China even then looked to each other for inspiration. It is for this reason that India became the first non-socialist country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China on the first day of April, 1950.

Both our nations have come a long way since then. We still have a long way to go. Not all our people are free from hunger, disease and want. But we can legitimately say that we have emerged as strong, vibrant countries on the way to fulfilling our tryst with destiny.

India and China may be young nations but are old civilizations. There is much that we have learnt from each other through our interaction over the centuries. There is much that we can learn from each other today. And there is much that we can do together in the new world order that is emerging. Friendship and cooperation between India and China is not only in the vital interest of both our countries but also for the world of tomorrow.

Today there is unprecedented engagement between India and China on many fronts whether it be in trade and commerce, high level political interaction, contact between our defence establishments, cultural exchange, education, tourism and the environment, to name a few. Although unprecedented, this is but a fraction of what we can do together.

Sixty years marks a full cycle in the Chinese calendar. In India too, attaining the age of sixty has a special meaning and significance. The sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations is an auspicious time to renew our efforts at deeper understanding, greater engagement and enhanced cooperation between our two great nations and peoples.

Thank you.

Beijing
April 6, 2010