The reception was attended by officials of the Indian High Commission in Georgetown, members of the diplomatic corps, Government officials and other delegates who gathered to observe the occasion.

Addressing the gathering first, Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Subit Kumar Mandal said India has witnessed over the last years a historical and unprecedented economic growth and it is the country’s endeavour to sustain this growth and to ensure that this is evenly distributed across its geographical and demographical regions.

President Bharrat Jagdeo and Indian High Commisisoner to Guyana Subit Kumar Mandal toast to good relations between Guyana and India as the latter celebrates its 61st Anniversary-August 15, 2008

“India is passing through a difficult stage, perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less than many other countries in the world at this point in time,” he pointed out.

President Jagdeo congratulated the country for reaching the important milestone of 61 years of independence and also stressed on the country’s remarkable economic and technological achievements.

“India is not inspired by many developing countries in the world but they serve as a global inspiration to others including from the developed part of the world. If we were to trace economic and social developments for the past 10 years in very contemporary history, we would see the role that two countries played in this period-India and China,” he emphasized.   

The President spoke of the challenges which the country also faces as it continues its development and noted that despite these, the country has managed to move forward and this is an example to the world.

Turning to Guyana’s situation, the Guyanese Leader echoed the High Commissioner’s assertions that Guyana and India had connections even before Independence.

“As a Guyanese, my history and ancestry is not one of an Indian nature, as an individual, yes, my ancestors came from India, but once you’re born in Guyana, your ancestors are Amerindians, Africans, Indians, Chinese…and we are one of the few countries where we can claim a collective ancestry from some of the greatest civilizations in the world,” President Jagdeo concluded.