Modi wins Seoul Peace Prize
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize for his contributions to international cooperation and the growth of the Indian and global economies, especially “Modinomics” aimed at reducing social disparity.
Modi is the 14th recipient of the prize established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the Olympic Games in Seoul and to crystallise the Korean people’s yearning for peace on the Korean Peninsula and across the world.
The Seoul Peace Prize Committee chose Modi in recognition of his “dedication to improving international cooperation, raising global economic growth, accelerating human development of the people of India by fostering economic growth in the world’s fastest growing economy and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts”, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
The committee also recognised Modi’s contributions to the growth of the Indian and global economies, “crediting ‘Modinomics’ for reducing social and economic disparity between the rich and the poor”, it added.
The panel lauded his “initiatives to make the government cleaner through anti-corruption measures and demonetisation” and also credited him for his contributions to regional and global peace through a “proactive foreign policy”, including the “Modi Doctrine” and “Act East Policy”.
Expressing gratitude for the honour in light of India’s deepening partnership with South Korea, Modi accepted the award which will be presented to him at a mutually convenient time. The awardee receives a diploma, a plaque and cash prize of $200,000.
In recent years, the biennial prize has gone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Denis Mukwege, a surgeon working to improve women’s and children’s rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo who has treated more than 48,000 victims of mass rape.
Other recipients include former UN chiefs Ban Ki-moon and Kofi Annan, Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, former Czech Republic president Vaclav Havel, Oxfam, Medecins San Frontieres and former US secretary of state George Shultz.
According to the foundation, the prize is awarded to those who have made their mark through contributions to the harmony of mankind, reconciliation between nations and world peace.
After assessing over 100 candidates proposed by 1,300 nominators from around the world, the committee selected Modi, calling him “the perfect candidate”.
In a series of tweets, BJP president Amit Shah said it was a “matter of great joy and immense pride for 130 crore Indians”. “I am glad that the Award Committee has taken note of ‘Modinomics’... Furthermore, the PM’s bold and innovative foreign policy, including the ‘Act East Policy’, (has) been hailed,” he tweeted.
Congress spokesperson Pranav Jha, however, said peace and economic growth were a “distant dream” for average Indians. “From bloodbath at the stock markets to blunders like demonetisation, for an average Indian..., the last 54 months have been disastrous,” he said.