Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland paid tribute to the relationship between India and the UK at the launch of the UK India Youth Awards in London last night.’.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland paid tribute to the relationship between India and the UK at the launch of the UK India Youth Awards in London last night.
The awards, organised by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU), recognise and celebrate the work of students of Indian origin, student societies and youth leaders. The awards are aimed at identifying inspiring young people from18 to 35 who have played a significant role in society, and will help to further relations between the two countries.
Speaking at the event, Secretary-General Scotland said, “It really is a great pleasure to be here for the launch of the UK India Youth Awards, and I thank the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK for kindly inviting me to say a few words – particularly in the context of the Commonwealth, which is so central to the relationship between India and the UK.”
She added, “Last month I visited India, and was hugely encouraged by the determination of all I met to make more of the scope and depth of the Commonwealth connection.”
Speaking about the historical relationship between the two countries, the Secretary-General referenced the fact that India and the UK were among eight countries which, as signatories of the London Declaration issued by the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference, established the modern Commonwealth.
NISAU is an umbrella organisation for India and India-related student societies in the UK and works to unify the voice of India's diaspora youth, in addition to promoting Indian culture, by collaborating with governmental and non-governmental bodies.
The Secretary-General concluded, “I urge you to remember that, as well as being citizens of India or the UK, you are citizens of a great global family of nations, the Commonwealth. And I wish the National Indian Students and Alumni Union UK continued success, and offer my warmest congratulations to the winners of the UK India Youth Awards.”
