World Hindi Conference draws to a close on a high note

Nadi, Feb 17

The three-day 12th World Hindi Conference concluded in Nadi, Fiji on Friday on a high note.

Addressing the closing ceremony in Hindi, Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad said: "Our government acknowledges India as one of the world leaders."

'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' reverbrated when Prasad said "India is one of the world leaders, especially of the developing countries. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, India is on right path."

He said: "For the past 140 years, Hindi is being promoted in Fiji. But during last 10-15 years, especially past 10 years the dissemniation of Hindi was reduced and it was weakened, but as our government came to power, we adopted policies to strengthen Hindi."

Prasad said that he studied Hindi from classs 1 to 6 but the quality of education was so good that despite learning the language for only six years, "we can read the Hindi books including religious ones, and write the language".

Indians will find that Hindi is spoken, taught and is an optional language in many countries and this strengthens India's relationship with those countries, Prasad said.

He thanked the visiting dignitaries for supporting the conference and termed it "historic".

Jaishankar said: "World Hindi Conference was delayed due to covid pandemic. Many people have asked, what will be the way forward... I hope that this conference will be a Mahakumbh. It will become a global networking platform. People have given suggestions which will be looked into," Jaishankar said.

"When the next conferences will be held and where - everything will be looked into after reaching Delhi and you will be dually informed," he added.

"We should organise this conference once in India and once abroad so that all Hindi lovers and people who want to promote the language get an opportunity. Our aim is how to make Hindi a global language," Jaishankar added.

He expressed gratitude to the Fiji government for their time and cooperation for making the the event successfull.

"Due to the efforts of ICCR, intellectuals from around 31 countries are present with us. We have to recognise its efforts," Jaishankar added.

He also mentioned contribution of Indian Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, MEA Secretary (East)Saurabh Kumar and the members of the delegation for the successfull conduct of the event.

The conference, themed 'Hindi - Traditional Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence', was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Fiji government.

--IANS