President Droupadi Murmu on September 29, 2022 said India’s leadership in several fields has become unchallenged now and the country plays an important role as a frontline state in the fight against terrorism.
Addressing a group of officer trainees of the Indian Foreign Service (2021 batch), who had called on her at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, she said that India’s strong position is based on its economic performance, among other factors.
"While leading economies of the world are still trying to overcome the effects of the pandemic, India has stood up again and started to move on," the President said.
As a result, India's economy is registering one of the fastest growth rates, Ms. Murmu said. "In fact, the global economic recovery, to an extent, rests on India".
Ms. Murmu said it is going to be all the more exciting for the officer trainees as they are beginning their career in the foreign service at a time when India has emerged on the world stage with new self-confidence.
The world, too, is looking at India with new admiration, the President said.
"The recent years have witnessed new initiatives in our bilateral and multilateral relations. In several global forums, India has made decisive interventions. India's leadership in several fields has become unchallenged now. India also plays an important role in developing the South and as a frontline state in the fight against terrorism," she said.
The other reason for India's standing on the world stage is its ethos, Ms. Murmu said.
She said the Indian Foreign Service offers the officers a unique opportunity to project India's proud civilisation, heritage and culture, together with its developmental aspirations to the rest of the world.
Referring to the changes taking place around the world, the president said that ongoing transformations on multiple fronts offer great opportunities as well as great challenges.
"New technologies give us hopes of better healthcare, for example, but they threaten existing business practices too. We can use technology to reach out to those on the margins. At the same time, technology also resets the security paradigm with new threats. As a nation, we have before us a chance to reset our choices," Ms. Murmu said.
The President said amid this fast-changing world, with its opportunities and threats, the role of Indian Foreign Service officers becomes critical — more so than ever before.
Navigating through these difficult waters and ensuring the best for India and also for the world will test their intelligence, Murmu said.
She expressed confidence that they will respond to the challenges of the future in the best possible manner and in the best interests of fellow citizens.
