Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Remarks of PM at flag off of India-ASEAN Rally

"I had the pleasure to be present at the commencement of the First India-ASEAN Car Rally in Guwahati, the capital of the Indian state of Assam on November 22.

While flagging off this event, I said that in organizing this rally we are doing more than setting in motion a rally that will go through nine countries, traversing over 8,000 kilometers through some of the most picturesque regions of the world.

I expressed the hope and confidence that this Car Rally will capture the imagination of our people, in demonstrating the essential oneness of our integrated region.

I see this Car Rally as a journey into the future, demonstrating the possibilities that can come about in trade, tourism, and people-to-people contact by bringing our countries together.

It gives me great pleasure to see and experience once again the high spirit of adventure and sport among the participants of this Rally gathered here to day, as you prepare to proceed to the final leg of the rally to Indonesia. All of you are pioneers in knitting our countries together. In future such overland travel will become commonplace, as it was centuries ago. But today there are considerable hurdles for overland travel, and I am glad that this Rally proves to the world at large that difficulties can be overcome.

Our region and Asia as a whole, are marching with confidence to meet the challenges of the future. Our countries are endowed with tremendous human talent and natural resources. The challenge before us is to put in place cooperative regional activities that will promote development and collective security for all our people.

This is an era of globalization wherein inter-connectivity, whether within a region or between regions, has to be comprehensive. It has to encompass and integrate the human, infrastructural, economic, technological and cultural dimensions.

Our growing interaction with ASEAN is critical to fulfilling the promise of the 21st Century being an Asian Century. By building such bridges of understanding and interaction will we increase and widen the circles of prosperity and growth.

The Third India-ASEAN summit, which has just been concluded, will be seen as a milestone in this journey of common destiny.

I wish to express my appreciation for all those who have contributed to this Car Rally.

I wish the participants of the First India-ASEAN Car Rally all success, safe driving and a happy arrival at your destination."