Prime Minister Narendra Modi was introduced as the keynote speaker at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The Prime Minister received a loud applause as he made his way to the podium.
Speaking in Hindi, PM Modi recalled the last time a Prime Minister from India attended the WEF which was 21 years ago. Modi said, “India’s GDP in 1997, when the last PM came to Davos, was a little over 400 billion dollars. It has grown six times since.”
This is the first time an Indian Prime Minister gave the plenary speech at the World Economic Forum.
Prime Minister Modi started with the issue of climate change and said, “The least we can do is lower carbon emissions. But how many developed nations have come forward to help others adopt technologies that can address the issue of carbon emissions.”
He further added, “To tackle climate change, the Indian government has set a huge target of producing 175 giga watts of renewable energy by 2022. In the last three years, we have already achieved a generation capacity of 60 giga watts.”
The Prime Minister also spoke of the threat faced due to terrorism. He said, “All those present here know about the threat it poses. As dangerous as terrorism is, even more dangerous is the artificial divide created between good and bad terrorists.”
After Modi’s speech, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said, “We are raising our voice…it’s a louder voice. Earlier our people used to feel shy. Now on international platform, our PM is talking. And he is putting the nation in a global scenario. Earlier, all prime ministers, Indian politicians used to feel shy for various reasons.”
India aims to showcase its potential as the front runner of the global economic growth. The Indians present at this year’s Forum is the largest in the history of the WEF. The Forum will host 70 leaders of State and Government around the world. The United States President Donald Trump will also be present at the annual meet.
