India is a peace-loving country and wants to have good relations with its neighbours: Vice President

New Delhi: The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that India is a peace-loving country and wants to have good relations with its neighbours. He was interacting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion of the Republic of Malta, Mr. Carmelo Abela, who called on him, here today.

The Vice President said that India and Malta share common heritage within the context of Commonwealth and use of English language and the diplomatic relations were established after Malta’s independence. He further said that India is keen to strengthen bilateral ties and large number of visits have been exchanged between two countries. The long standing, excellent relations between these two countries have stood test of time in a world buffeted by rapid changes and new threats, he added.

The Vice President said that the present government in India is making rapid progress based on the triple goals of – Reform, Perform and Transform. He further said that initiatives like GST, Make-in-India, Digital India, Smart Cities, Start-up India, Aspirational India etc are bringing strategic shift in India’s economic progress and there is enormous potential for investment by Maltese financial companies. Nuclear energy is a key element for India to sustain rapid economic growth and India looks forward to Malta’s continued support for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, he added.

Reacting to the invitation extended by the Maltese Foreign Minister to visit their country, the Vice President said that it would be a pleasure to visit their beautiful country.