Turning Points by Kalam A P J Abdul

Author:Kalam, A P J Abdul [Kalam, A P J Abdul]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Non-fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins India
Published: 2012-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

10

AT HOME ABROAD

I am a world citizen,

Every citizen is my own kith and kin.

I have not been much of a foreign traveller as my hands were always full with time-bound national tasks throughout my professional career. As the first citizen of the country, however, receiving heads of state in India and honouring our own commitments by visiting foreign countries were official requirements. Whenever foreign delegations visited, the enthusiastic Rashtrapati Bhavan team worked hard to shower them with hospitality and present the accomplishments of our country. For me, the most important aspect of these visits was how to present the core competencies of our country and how to learn from the practices of other countries for our benefit. From this was born the concept of the World Knowledge Platform, which I developed in discussion with many specialists and dignitaries. We shared our concerns on environmental degradation and discussed the necessity of energy independence. We showed visitors Indian capabilities in IT, e-governance and pharmaceuticals. I was happy that every meeting or visit was geared towards implementing some mutually beneficial bilateral or multilateral programme.

Each of my visits abroad was important in its own way. In Sudan, discussions centred on building an oil pipeline from the southern part of the country to the capital Khartoum costing nearly a billion dollars in which India would cooperate. Today oil is flowing from Sudan to India. In Ukraine there was a very hectic programme. The visit resulted in advances in space cooperation. However, I give only a few highlights of those journeys. I went to South Africa in September 2004. President Thabo Mbeki requested that I address the Pan African Parliament, representing fifty-three African countries, in Johannesburg. I gladly accepted the request and as my team and I prepared for my speech, we pondered what we could offer to connect the African nations with India’s core competencies. This led to the emergence of the concept of the Pan African e-Network, which would provide education, health care and e-governance services from twelve universities and seventeen specialty hospitals from India and Africa and also connect all the presidents of the Pan African nations to enable smooth exchange of ideas between them.

The initial budgetary estimates by experts indicated that it would cost $50 million to $100 million to establish the e-Network. Before presenting the proposal to the Pan African Parliament, I briefed the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, who felt that the proposal was in tune with the Focus Africa theme of the Government of India and would be a useful tool for cooperation between the Pan African countries and India.

The Pan African e-Network Project, which has now achieved considerable momentum, was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 26 February 2009. Today, the e-Network has become a good example of fulfilling international social responsibility.

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