Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's acceptance speech at the Moscow State University

"I am deeply honoured to receive the title of 'Professor Honoris Causa' from this prestigious institution, which is the oldest University of Russia. As a former University teacher, I deem it a signal honour to be here today. Your great university is named after a distinguished Russian scholar and scientist, Academician Mikhail Lomonosov. He was truly a luminous personality on the intellectual firmament of modern Russia. Intellectual giants such as Lomonosov contributed to making Russia the great nation it is today. I salute their contribution to this great country, and indeed to all humanity.

For me, the honour you have done me has special value because our beloved Prime Ministers, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi are among the Indians who were similarly honoured. Both were true friends of the Russian people. They established the firm foundation upon which our enduring relationship was built. In his letters written in the 1930s to his teenage daughter Indira, Jawaharlal Nehru paid tribute to the literary and artistic heritage of Russia and to the genius of the Russian people. He extolled Russian ballet, Russian art and above all, Russian literature. He was profoundly influenced by Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekov, Gorky and, of course, Leo Tolstoy, whom he described as "perhaps the greatest of them all... a genius at writing novels, but also a religious and spiritual leader whose influence was far-reaching". Every Indian knows of the abiding friendship between Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi. We have all admired the works of such great Russians as Pushkin, Tchaikovsky, Tarkovsky and Eisenstein.

This great centre of learning has played a cardinal role in building Russia's strength, particularly its scientific and technological capabilities. The long and distinguished history of your University is impressive. It is not surprising that your university should have produced great Nobel laureates like Nikolai Semionov, Igor Tamm, Ilia Frank, Leo Landau and Pyotr Kapitza. The Rector of this University, Academician Sadovnichy, is himself a world-renowned scientist in the field of informatics and applied mathematics. This testifies to the great intellectual and academic traditions of this institution.

The scientific and technological achievements of the Russian people have been an inspiration the world over. As a student of economics I have admired the work of such great Russian economists as the Nobel Laureates, Wassily Leontief and Leonid Kantorovich. Many Indian scientists, social scientists, technologists, doctors, artists, film makers and professionals in many other fields have also been inspired by the work of their Russian counterparts.

Since independence, we in India have invested in the development of our human resources through investment in education. India is today home to many Universities and institutions, which have been recognised the world over.

We have established competencies in disciplines such as medicine, engineering and technology, management and the humanities. We are working to further expand these assets to meet the requirements of our rapidly developing economy. In this context, Indo-Russian co-operation has a long history, and we attach great importance to this partnership. I am therefore very glad that the scientific communities of our two countries are engaged today in further building upon this strong tradition.

The emerging capabilities and strengths of our scientists have opened new areas in frontier fields, such as biotechnology, information technology and nano-technology. These fields have proven to be revolutionary in their impact, and there is great scope for expanded co-operation between India and Russia in these fields. The areas where they converge should be the object of joint research by the scientists of our two countries as developments in these areas will have a crucial impact on our lives in the future. I am happy that joint projects are now being actively developed by our two countries in these new areas. I am delighted that, as part of our expanding co-operation in this field, we have agreed to set up a jointly funded Science and Technology Centre in Moscow to facilitate commercialisation of technologies to mutual benefit.

The Moscow State University, I know, has long-standing linkages with India. Over the years, several hundred students from India have graduated from this University. As the strategic partnership between India and Russia gains strength, the interaction between the academic communities of both countries should also grow. We should evolve new mechanisms to fund new programmes for post-doctoral and doctoral research and for visiting faculty.

We are ready, on our side, to support this increased academic exchange. However, I am concerned by the fact that the range and intensity of contact between Indian and Russian scholars and scientists has declined in recent years. President Putin and I are committed to reversing this trend. We would like to see a much higher flow of scientists, young scholars and researchers between our two countries. I believe that many institutions in India are now very exciting places for young researchers. I hope some of you here will feel motivated to come and pursue studies and research in our institutions. There is, I believe, a compelling need in both our countries to foster a new generation of scholars committed to the study of both countries and become conversant with the dramatic changes taking place in our respective countries.

The 21st century will be predicated on knowledge, as much as the 19th century was based on access to raw materials and human labour, while in the 20th century, it was all about industrialization. Nation-States will compete in the knowledge domain and hence the development of human resources acquires ever-increasing greater relevance. Thus, demographic characteristics, the ratio of the young population to the ageing and the reproductive index will acquire a greater strategic significance.

Russia's greatest asset is that it has a rich tradition of human creativity and scientific and technological ingenuity. India is developing these capabilities and will have the largest pool of young people in the foreseeable future. Russia and India have their own distinctive characteristics and areas of both advantage and vulnerability in the long cycle of the present century. Clearly, there is great potential here for a strategic partnership in the knowledge-based sectors between India and Russia.

Both Russia and India are currently engaged in dealing with the challenge of globalisation. We face the dual challenge of meeting the needs of our people at home while facing competition from the world outside. There is much we can learn from each other, just as there is much we can do together while facing a brave new world of opportunities and challenges. The evolving global system requires better and more equitable management and needs more effective institutions to enable this. Russia and India can and must work together, with other like-minded countries, in dealing with global challenges. Be it the challenge of preserving and protecting the environment, the challenge of fighting disease and pandemics, the challenge of combating terrorism or the challenge of preserving a democratic way of life by strengthening open societies and open economies.

Our commitment to democratic values and practices means there are many concerns and perceptions that we share with Russia. India and Russia are nations that reflect a wide spectrum of diversity being multi ethnic, multi religious, multi lingual and multi cultural. Both nations have a federal structure. The core challenge for both of us is to improve socio-economic opportunities and indicators for the more vulnerable sections of our societies. We need to ensure an equitable socio-political and socio-economic framework for our minorities through the democratic dispensation.

Our most important common concern is the threat of terrorism. Open societies such as ours are today threatened more than ever before by the rise of terrorism. The very openness of our societies makes us more vulnerable, and yet we must deal effectively with the threat without losing the openness we so value and cherish. India and Russia have both suffered grievously from terrorism and we have been working together to fight it. We know that those who resort to terror often clothe it in the garb of real or imaginary grievances. We categorically affirm that no cause justifies resort to terror.

Democracies provide legitimate means for expressing dissent. They provide the right to engage in political activity, and must continue to do so. However, for this very reason, they cannot afford to be soft on terror.Terrorism exploits the freedom our open societies provide to destroy our freedoms. Russia and India must work together in all possible forums to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We cannot be selective. We must fight terrorism wherever it exists, because terrorism anywhere threatens democracy everywhere.

The structure of the global economy is changing and so is the structure of global power and politics. Our young people must pay attention to what is happening in the world and how our countries must adapt to a new and changing reality. Indeed, I hope young Russians will once again look at India and discover the new face of India. I know many of your senior faculty may still hum the tunes of Awara and may still be nostalgic about Raj Kapoor! But I want you, dear students, to come and discover a new generation of Raj Kapoors and the new music that your generation in India taps its feet to. India today is a land of great creativity and enterprise, where new forms of artistic and cultural expression are blossoming. There is a need for a new generation of Indians and Russians to rediscover each other.

This renewal is essential even though our friendship is deep and enduring. It is no exaggeration to assert that there are no contemporary international issues over which we have a difference of opinion between our countries. Ours is a time-tested friendship that has fostered trust and understanding. This is a solid foundation on which we must build anew. But of late, people-to-people, business-to-business contact has been far below potential, and certainly way below what our friendship warrants. Our Governments, our businesses and our civil society institutions must pay attention to address this imbalance.

Some of the areas in which we can and must work together and more closely include energy and space. We in India have always derived comfort from Russia's strong and enduring commitment to our economic development and prosperity. Today, as India's economic growth rate accelerates, our need for energy is increasing exponentially. Russia has been an important partner in our strategy for energy security. However, there is much more that we must do together. We must initiate an Energy Dialogue between experts and policymakers in our two countries to widen and deepen our cooperation in this field. Energy security is an important challenge of the 21st Century and Russia and India can work together in this field.

Similarly, space is an area where we have complementary capabilities. While Russia is far ahead of us in space launch and space voyages, we have new capabilities in satellite technology that can contribute to the commercial viability of your space programme. Working together in space is a win-win proposition.

The one message I wish to leave behind for you is that we must renew, rediscover, and re-engage at a societal level. I want young Russians to discover how lively our society is, how exciting our cities are, how interesting our heritage sites are, and how warmly our people regard our Russian friends. I would also like you to discover how engaging our students, scholars and researchers are. India is an ancient civilization, but a young nation. Perhaps the youngest in the world in terms of our demographic profile. Come listen to the heartbeat of a new India. You will find yourself in step with it.

I listened with great interest areas of co-operation between Indian University and the Moscow State University. These need to be multiplied multi-fold. The Government of India will fully support all initiatives to that end.

I once again thank you, Academician Sadovnichy, and members of the Scientific Council of the University to give me the opportunity to be amongst you today. I greatly cherish the honour you have conferred upon me. I wish you all the very best in your endeavours for even greater achievements by your esteemed University. May your path be blessed."