Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said the honour is a tribute to President Shri Pranab Mukherjee’s unmatched political career of over six decades
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has sent his congratulations to Shri Pranab Mukherjee on his assumption of office as President of India.
In a letter to the President, Mr Sharma said that the honour was a tribute to Mr Mukherjee’s unmatched political career of over six decades, during which he has made “an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of the people of India as a parliamentarian and leader”.
| : India was one of the first countries to become a member of the modern Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949, where a conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers accepted and recognised India's continued membership as a republic, paving the way for other newly independent countries to join. |
“In these long years of untiring public service, including numerous ministerial tenures, you have been an integral part of the development, and indeed the steering, of modern India’s remarkable growth story,” Mr Sharma said.
“India is a valued member of the Commonwealth, and is an exemplar of the core Commonwealth values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and civil rights.”
Mr Sharma added that under President Mukherjee’s leadership and counsel, he looked forward to a further deepening of India’s participation in and contribution to “this unique family of nations” – the Commonwealth.
