Speech by Her Excellency the President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, at the the Presentation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the Year 2007

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have great pleasure in conferring the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year 2007, on His Excellency Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of the Republic of Iceland, a remarkable leader with a global vision and a proponent of peace and understanding.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in whose memory this award has been constituted, was a visionary statesman. As an inspiring and a far-sighted leader, he played a crucial role in our freedom struggle, as well as in the formative stages of independent India. In the seventeen years that he served as the first Prime Minister of independent India, he worked incessantly. Every sphere of national life received his attention. He guided the young nation along its chosen path of being a democracy, that was modern, but yet conscious of its long history and the values of its ancient civilization. As an enlightened leader, he gave high priority to education, established institutions for higher learning in technology and medical sciences, as well as research centres and infused a scientific temper in the country. It is on this foundation that today, India stands as one of the leaders in the knowledge society.

Prime Minister Nehru was widely admired across the world for his statesmanship as he had a deep understanding of international affairs and his role in shaping global discourse was profound. Peace for him was not merely the absence of war, but a positive approach. He advocated disarmament when it was not fashionable to espouse such a cause. As a humanist, Pandit Nehru believed that the welfare of the human race can only be achieved through friendship between peoples and nations. In the contemporary world, many global challenges confront us - poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation, terrorism, among others. They require global cooperation and working together in a collaborative manner. It entails conducting international affairs in a manner that serves human progress, increases prosperity and welfare, as well as promotes mutual understanding.

President Grimsson, you represent a country that has had a parliamentary tradition that dates back to 930 AD. You have upheld the Icelandic tradition of promoting democracy both as an active Parliamentarian and as the President of your country since 1996. You have also been playing an active role in efforts to address issues that concern all of us as citizens of a common, but vulnerable planet. We recall the urgency with which you advocated action on global challenges when speaking at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit three years ago. At that Summit, Mr. President, you had stressed that time flies swiftly and all of a sudden, we are confronted by problems that we thought would be the concern of generations to come, not of our own. This seems to be coming true - the impacts of climate change are staring in our face. In recent years, you have been a pace-setter on the benefits of renewable energy, strongly advocating the use of geothermal energy, promoting the benefits of hydrogen and electric powered vehicles. These initiatives are critical today, as we seek practical measures to increase our share of renewable and non-conventional sources of energy, in our attempt to bring the benefits of development to our people, while limiting the possible consequences on the environment.

Mr. President, we also respect the various initiatives taken by you to bring together people's representatives from all over the world, as the Chairman and later as the President of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Global Action from 1984 to 1990. We recall that Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi joined you in the Executive Committee of the Six Nation Peace Initiative. It is heartening that echoes of that initiative are finding resonance in today's world.

President Grimsson, India values your close association and friendship of over a quarter of a century and appreciates your personal contribution in furthering India-Iceland relations. We are aware of your deep fondness for India. During your visit to India in 2000, which was the first ever State Visit to India by a President of Iceland, you had said and I quote, "India, her people, her culture, her history, her struggle for independence and democracy, her colourful variety, achievements and progress - India, so unique and so challenging, has maintained a special place in my heart and deliberations, ever since as a youngman I was inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and the courageous leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru." Unquote

It is, therefore, a privilege to honour a true friend of India and an outstanding leader of Iceland. I extend my warmest congratulations and greetings to you and through you to the people of Iceland.

Thank you.