GUEST OF HONOUR:
Indian PM Narendra Modi with HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Igor Dodon, President of Moldova, at the World Government Summit in Dubai. — Wam
The safe use of technology, the UAE’s achievements and India’s missions in space exploration and renewable energy — these were some of the topics Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched on at the World Government Summit.
Modi gave the guest country inaugural address in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The pivotal point of his speech was that technology should not be used for “destructive” purposes and instead to improve human lives. “In my opinion, the biggest responsibility of the government is to use technology for the common man, as it brings great accessibility. Man sometimes fashions the tools of progress into instruments of destruction. The misuse of the cyberspace for radicalisation is one example of this,” Modi said.
“Despite all the progress achieved, poverty and malnutrition has not vanished from the face of the earth. At the same time, a vast amount of money and resources have been spent to increase the deadliness of missiles and bombs. We have to stay alert to use technology for progress and not for destruction. Sometimes, it seems man is making the cardinal mistake of using technology to enter into conflict with nature. For the future of mankind, we need to travel on the road to coexistence and not conflict. India has shown coexistence with nature and for healthy living through whole systems, such as yoga.” Modi also highlighted India’s achievements in using solar energy and reducing the country’s carbon footprint.
Speaking on India’s vision of achieving 100GW of solar energy by the year 2022, he said: “In the last year, we have already crossed the 65GW mark. The government alone has distributed 882 million solar bulbs and 30 million carbon emissions were reduced. The next technological revolution will be the storage of solar energy.”
India is also ahead in space exploration, the Indian PM said. On its Mars orbital mission, he said: “Last month, India’s satellite programme crossed the century mark, launching its 100th satellite. India’s Mars orbital mission cost even less than a Hollywood project. The cost of the Mars orbital was seven rupees per kilometre,” he said.
UAE leaders also tweeted about the World Government Summit after attending Modi’s inaugural address. “Today, we welcomed His Excellency @narendramodi Prime Minster of India, as a guest of honour @WorldGovSummit , attended by delegates from 140 countries. We were honoured to learn from India’s thousands of years of development experience, and view a bright future ahead,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid tweeted.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed tweeted: “Today, we are pleased to hear the speech of the Prime Minister of India at the World Summit of Governments and his recent experience of India’s successful innovation of a government methodology and the need to harness technology for the service of humanity. The summit is a meeting point shared by states, with its ideas to serve the civilised and human progress.”