Vice President Venkaiah Naidu invokes Nehru while addressing Serbian Parliament
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu invoked India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in his address to the Serbian Parliament as he underlined the need to strengthen democratic policies by internalizing the concepts of freedom, dialogue, inclusion and the rule of law. Naidu, who arrived in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Friday, said relations between India and Serbia were deeply rooted in history. Here's more.
70 years of India-Serbia diplomatic relations
This year marks the 70th-anniversary of the establishment of India-Serbia diplomatic relations, Naidu said. "Serbia and India share a common commitment to democratic values and the need to continuously nurture the democratic spirit for improving the quality of the lives of our people," he added.
Special session of the National Assembly of Serbia
Addressing the special session of the National Assembly of Serbia on the International Day of Democracy on Saturday, Naidu said India and Serbia shared a common perspective on many issues and have a deeper affinity that brings the two countries closer. He said it would be good to recall Nehru's words at the conference of Non-Aligned Movement nations in Belgrade on September 2, 1961.
Nehru, other world leaders addressed NAM Summit in Serbian Parliament
"It was here that the first Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit took place in 1961. Prime Minister of India Pandit Nehru and other world leaders of Non-Aligned Movement addressed the NAM Summit in this hallowed hall," Naidu said. "His call which rings so true and relevant even today was to build in our own countries societies where freedom is real," he added.
Terrorism, one of foremost threats to international peace, security: Naidu
Naidu was glad Serbia shared India's views on the need to reform the UN, particularly UN Security Council. "Our two countries also agree that terrorism is one of the foremost threats to international peace and security. There is an urgent need to strengthen the global counter-terrorism legal framework...by expediting finalization of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) under the UN umbrella," he said.
India, Serbia have been strengthening bilateral ties
Naidu hailed the steps the two countries have been taking to strengthen the bilateral ties and emphasized that need to further boost the trade ties. Naidu praised Serbia for abolishing visa requirements for a short-term visit by all Indian passports holders last year.
