New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Trinidad & Tobago in the second leg of his 5-nation tour. The visit is aimed at strengthening the bilateral ties between the 2 countries. The PM met with the top leadership of the country, including the PM, Kamala Persad Bissessar, who was left impressed by the Indian leader.
PM Kamala Persad Bissessar’s praise for PM Narendra Modi
The PM of Trinidad & Tobago, Kamala Persad Bissessar heaped praises on PM Narendra Modi. She said, “We are graced by the presence of someone who is near and dear to us. We are graced by a leader whose visit is not just a matter of protocol but profound honour for us.”
She further said that she was privileged to welcome one of the world’s most respected, most admired visionary leaders, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India. She described PM Modi as a “transformational force” who has refined governance of India and positioned India as a prominent and dominant global power.
She also praised PM Modi for modernising the Indian economy through his futuristic initiatives. She said that the PM had empowered a billion people and also made even Indians living abroad proud of their identity. She said, “It is not only governance but your reverence to heritage that has brought us here tonight.”
Bissessar also reminded the PM about his first visit to the country in 2002, as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. She said that at the time the PM had arrived in the country as a cultural ambassador. She said that as of today, the PM had returned to the country as the head of government of more than 1.4 billion people, as a distinguished and celebrated leader, whose influence transcends boundaries.
She said, “We bow to you Sir.”
The PM of Trinidad and Tobago said that what inspires the people present in the gathering is PM Modi’s enduring commitment to Indian diaspora, prompting culture, history and spirit of our shared journey. She said that after PM Modi came to power in India, the country has extended help to several countries around the world, especially through its vaccine initiative, which helped several countries during the Coronavirus pandemic.
She said that it was PM Modi who ensured that the vaccines reached even the smallest nations including her own country, Trinidad and Tobago. She credited the PM with bringing peace and calm at a time when there was fear and chaos.
Conferring the highest honour of the country on PM Modi, Kamala Persad Bissessar said, “This was more than diplomacy, this was an act of kinship, act of shared humanity and act of love. This is one of the many reasons that we are deeply proud to bestow upon you The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, our nation’s highest honour.”
The Trinidad and Tobago PM also quoted a Gujarati poem written by PM Narendra Modi in her speech. The translation of the poem reads as follows,
In the recesses of my mind
I travel far into the past
And each phase I see unfolds a memory
My recall comes with ease
Each visage easily recognised
Nothing stays hidden
For thus is the truth plain to see
For our companions
With whom we suffered
Never forgotten
Together endured those sufferings
They become the journey in the end