Indian Union Minister of State for External Affairs Gen. V. K. Singh has arrived in Auckland as the Guest of Honour of Indian Weekender’s signature event, the Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame.
Prime Minister of New Zealand Bill English will be the chief guest of the event, which has grown to be the biggest formal event of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand in just five years.
The Minister was officially received and welcomed by Bhav Dhillon, Publisher/Managing Editor of Indian Weekender at the Langham Hotel, Auckland.
“It’s a great pleasure to be here and be a part of the community awards event that Indian Weekender is organising for the Indian diaspora,” Gen. Singh said.
Indian Weekender has been organising Kiwi Indian Hall of Fame Honours since the past five years with the single-minded goal of recognising the biggest and the most inspirational achievers within the Indian community in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s top political elite has always acknowledged Indian Weekender’s leadership and commitment in facilitating Indian communities’ contribution to the New Zealand’s society
The Prime Minister of the day has made it a point to be graciously present on all previous events as a mark of New Zealand’s unwavering commitment to the country’s fastest growing migrant group.
Now it was the turn of the Indian government to demonstrate their commitment and respond to the aspirations of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand to be included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘diaspora narrative.’
To that end, the Indian government had responded with aplomb by sending one of its most popular ministers in global Indian diaspora – Gen. V. K. Singh.
Indian Weekender is highly appreciative of Minister’s acceptance to attend this premier event of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.
The fact that the Minister was in the South Pacific neighbourhood just a week ago and had chosen to travel back to the region for a very short visit of about 24 hours in the country has not gone unnoticed and unacknowledged within the Indian diaspora in New Zealand.
The Minister was presented with few copies of Indian Weekender newspaper and briefed about the role of this newspaper in raising community’s voice and bringing news that matters to the community.
According to Indian Weekender’s assessment, Gen. V. K. Singh is an integral part of Mr Modi’s ‘diaspora narrative’ and immensely popular within the global diaspora around the world especially for his demonstrated personal leadership in leading several evacuation missions around the world.
The Minister was modest about his accomplishments and on a lighter note commented “The relations between New Zealand and India are excellent.
“Our diaspora is a source of strength for New Zealand, very well amalgamated within New Zealand society to an extent that they do not need evacuations.”
The Minister’s visit to the Indian Weekender’s signature event of Hall of Fame Honours is destined to set some new precedents that have the potential to revolutionise the role of the diaspora in driving New Zealand-India bilateral relations.
However, as is said, with great power comes great responsibility. Indian Weekender – the Indian community’s biggest multimedia group in the country humbly accepts the responsibility to continue to maintain and strengthen its connection with the Indian community in New Zealand.
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