Ministry of External Affairs Government of India

Hello! (Namaskar!)

A country like Japan, this atmosphere of AKI season and your company, it truly is a phenomenal confluence. If you have to call at 9:00 am on a working Monday morning in India, but to turn up in such large numbers so early in the morning, I am grateful from the depths of my heart for such love and blessings.

Today's meeting is also special because I am meeting my kinsfolk residing in Japan after the year 2016.

On this occasion, I congratulate our best friend, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on behalf of India, on behalf of all of you, for being elected as the President of LDP again.

Prime Minister Abe always had a feeling of love and affection for the people of India and for me. The kind of special reception that has been accorded to me gave a new dimension to this love and affection, once again I express my gratitude to Prime Minister Abe and to the people of Japan.

Along with this my heartiest wishes to all of you for Deepawali. Just like in Deepawali a lamp illuminates the place where it is lighted, similarly it is my wish that you illuminate your and country’s name in Japan and everywhere in the world.

Friends,

This is my third visit to Japan as the Prime Minister of India. Whenever I come to Japan, I have a very affectionate experience here. That is because relations between India and Japan are rooted from cultures to trends. Be it Hinduism or Buddhism, our heritage is shared. A glimpse of this heritage is reflected in the people that we adore to our alphabets.

Be it Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Shiva or Ganesh, equivalents of all are present in the Japanese society. The word "service" means the same in Japanese and Hindi. Home became Goma here and the Festoon became Tori in Japanese.The traditional white attire that Japanese pilgrims wear who go to the Holy Mount Ontake, also get something written on it inthe ancient script of Sanskrit-Sidham. When they wear white Japanese Tengui, OM is written on it.

Friends,

There are many such strong threads of the past woven inthe relations of India and Japan. While Buddha and Bose connect the history of India and Japan, the present of new India is being strengthenedby emissaries like you. The ambassador of the government is one but thousands of envoys of our nation are present here.

You are the bridge that connects India and Japan,its people, culture and aspirations of both countries. I am glad you are carrying this responsibility successfully.

Friends,

Whenever I talk to Prime Minister Abe, he praises Indian community which makes me feel so happy. You people have earned great respect here from your skillsand your cultural values.

You have succeeded in making Yoga a part of Japan's life. You have introduced Kadhi-Chawal in the menus here, and now youeven celebrate Diwali with your Japanese friends here. You have given this martial arts skilled country the art of kabaddi and now you are engaged in developing the culture of cricket here.

The way you have made a place in Japanese hearts with the mantra of Contribute, Co-exist to Conquer Hearts is really appreciable. I am happy that a diaspora of more than 30 thousand Indians is working here as the representative of our culture.

Friends,

Many of you keep visiting India. Those who have not been there for a while come to know about the changes happening in India through the newspapers and through the Internet. Today, India is going through a major phase of change. Today, the world is praising India's efforts to serve humanity. The country is being honored for the work that is being done in the field of public service, and the kind of policies that are being formulated in India.

Recently, two great organizations of the world have appreciated and honored India's efforts. Due to contributions made towards Green Future, United Nations has conferred the Champion of the Earth award and Seoul Peace Foundation has honored India with the Seoul Peace Prize.

Friends,

These honors may have been given to me as a representative of 1.25 billion Indians but my contribution is only as much as the thread of the garland thatstrings the beads and encourages them to move ahead unitedly. Our country is full of such pearls and diamonds like you. Only a concerted effort was required which we have been doing for the past four years. Today, this collective power of the masses and public participation is being recognized by the world.

Today, India is playing a leading role in environment protection, world peace, and reducing economic disparity. I thank the Jury of Seoul Peace Prize for praising Modinomics. While respecting their feelings, I would like to say that instead of Modinomics it is an honor for Indonomics.

Being the head of government, I am merely doing what is the culture and tradition of India. We are devoted to our ancient values of ‘Whole world is a family’and‘May all become happy and disease free.’ Our government have made only that much changes that the worldshould be seen with the glasses of India.

Our government is constantly working with the spirit of Indian Solution, Global Application. First we are resolving problems of India and then presenting that model to other countries of the world.

Friends,

You will be proud to know that the transparency created in India because of the trinity of JAM i.e. Jandhan, Aadhar and Mobile, is also inspiring other developing countries of the world. The systemsdeveloped in India arenow being studied. Apart from this, our modern arrangementsfor Digital Transactions, like BHIM App and Rupay Card, many countries of the world are also curious about these things.

I have been told that Japan is also increasingly making efforts towards a Less Cash Economy. You will be happy to know that today India has moved way ahead in this direction. Over the past four years, digital transactions have increased by almost 7 times through UPI, BHIM and other digital platforms.

At the same time, India is taking Financial Inclusion to the next level and home delivery of Financial Services in villages is being done through the Post Offices. You have seen the postman in your childhood, that postman is now becoming a banker.

Friends,

Today India is making unprecedented progress in the field of Digital Infrastructure. Broadband connectivity is reaching villages and more than one billion mobile phones are active in India today. Sometimes it is said that there are more mobile phones in India than the population of India. 1GB data in India is cheaper than the smallest bottle of cold drink. Today this cheap data is becoming an effective medium of service delivery.

On the other hand, Make in India has emerged as a global brand today. Today we are making great products not only for India but for the world also. India is becoming a global hub especially in Electronics and Automobile Manufacturing. We are moving ahead towards becoming number one in mobile phone manufacturing.

Friends,

The atmosphere behind the success of Make in India is thatwhich has been created for business in the past four years. We have made a jump of more than 40 points in the Ease of Doing Business Rankings.This year also we have improved our placein the Global Competitive Rankingsby five points. At the same time, in the case of innovation, today we have joined the list of the world's leading countries. This is the reason that India is now the second largest ecosystem for start-ups.

Friends,

Whatever innovations are taking place in India, whatever solutions are being prepared, along with being inexpensive they are good in terms of quality also. India's Space Program is a great example of this. Today India is sendingspacesatellites of many countries and private companies in the worldat a very low cost. Last year, our scientists had created an unprecedented record of launching more than one hundred satellites at once.

We have sent Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan in very small budget, now we are preparing to send Gaganyaan by 2022. This Gaganyaan will be completely Indian and the person going to space in this will also be an Indian.

Friends,

From ground to space, many such changes have been taking place in India today. Due to these changes, today India is the world's fastest growing major economy. Given these changes, all the agencies in the world are saying that in the coming decade, India will drive world growth. In this growth story of India, Japan and you alltoo are going to make a big contribution.

From the Bullet Train to the Smart Cities, whatever new infrastructure of New India is being prepared today, Japan is a partner in that. India's Manpower, India's Youth Power is also benefitting from Japan's skill.

Friends,

I invite you all for your active participation in the creation of New India. Today, along with suitable opportunities for investment and innovation in India, itis also an important time to connect actively with your roots.

Indians settled in Japan,together with the Japanese friends have always contributed significantly for the country. The support that Swami VivekanandaJi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and independence movement of India got from Japan, it will always remainetched in the heart of millions of Indians.

We all have to make constant efforts so that in future our relations get more intense and our partnership becomes much stronger.

Today, from this forum I invite you to Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and Ardha-Kumbha in January next year. This year Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be organized in Varanasi, where Prime Minister Abe got fascinated by seeing the Ganga Aarti. I am inviting you face to face to come to Varanasi because I am the MP from there and you all will be my guests.

Two days later, India is going to create one more new identity on the world map.

31st October is the birth anniversary of SardarVallabhbhai Patel, which we celebrate every year, but this time it will have the attention of whole world as Gujarat, his birthplace, is going to have the world's tallest statueof SardarSahab i.e. the Statue of Unity which is twice as high as the Statue Of Liberty.The statue of Sardar Ji will be as high as was his brilliance. Every India can proudly say that the world's largest statue is in India. It will be inaugurated on October 31. I am sure that when you will visit India, your Japanese friends will visit India,then you will inspire them to see the statue of SardarVallabh Bhai Patel, this will be my request to you all.

At the end, once again my best wishes to you all for Deepawali.

You all came in such large numberstoday morning, I once again heartily thank all of you.

Thank you.

Disclaimer: PM’s Speech was delivered in Hindi. This is an approximate translation of Speech.