Smt Nrimala Sitharaman delivering 7th Rutum Kamgo memorial lecture in Itanagar
Delivering the 7th Rutum Kamgo memorial lecture on November 11 Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman said five ‘S’ Samman (respect), Samvad (dialogue), Sahyog (co-operation), Shanti (peace) and Samriddhi (prosperity) should guide our relations with China
Itanagar: “There was a time when we talked of Developed and Developing countries as the North-South divide. But today in the entire world, if there lies the engine of development anywhere, it lies in Asia. Any impact on the development of India and China will have an impact on the development of the entire world. So, every effort towards peace and security of this region will have results in the entire world. Good relations between India and China will have an impact not only on these two nations but also on the entire world,” said Union Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman while delivering 7th Rutum Kamgo memorial lecture on the theme ‘Towards Bridging the Indo-China relationship for an emerging Asia’ on November 11.
The late Rutum Kamgo had worked towards protecting the indigenous rights and preserving the indigenous culture of Arunachal Pradesh. State Chief Minister Prema Khandu, wife of Rutum Kamgo Smt Meu Kamgo, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Chowna Mein, RSS Prant Pracharak Shri Sunil Mohanty and various Ministers were also present on the occasion. The lecture was organised by Arunachal Pradesh Charitable Task.
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman further said that it is in the development of both India and China in their own peculiar ways that the peace, security and growth of the entire region depends. This will have impact in the entire world. So, when we call 21st century as the Asian century we must be mindful of these limitations at the same time. Only when there is peaceful co-existence paired with mutual confidence, trust and respect, can we think of this as the Asian century. It is under these circumstances that both India and China can progress despite competition. We need to understand that competition is not conflict, it can never be conflict. People have realised that we India, China and whole of Asia is the engine of global growth, she added.
Stressing on encouraging border trade, she said the total trade between India and China is huge, it is around 80-90 billion US$. But sadly, there is a huge trade imbalance between the two nations. Their markets are not very open for our goods. There is a market for our goods there, be it vegetables, fruits, engineering goods, telecommunication goods, pharmaceuticals or software technologies. China is interested in our film industry, there is a huge craze of our television serials, Buddhism, Art and Culture and Yoga is something that interests Chinese. But their market isn’t very open. Therefore, despite requirement we aren’t able to export to the extent we can. Our economy on the other hand is open. There are multiple medium and small enterprises that are buying materials from China and in turn causing trade deficit against us. We have been raising this issue with China. We might be in competition but if both economies are to grow, we have to reciprocate the efforts to open up economies. If economies open, products from North East can go there. This is another significant issue between India and China, she added.
Chief Minister Shri Prema Khandu said the late Rutum Kamgo did lot of work for the state in a very short span. He said Arunachal has numerous tribes and each tribe has its own dynamics and culture. We have to protect the tribal culture, traditions and identity. For this, I would like to thank the volunteers and full time workers of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. They have been working in the state for many decades. The RSS has also played an important role in preserving the culture of the state. He said preserving local dialects becomes an integral part of culture preservation.
