EUROPEA COUCIL

THE PRESIDET EN , 4 October 2013 EUCO 199/13

PRESSE 402 PR PCE 177

Remarks by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy on the occasion of the Europalia. Festival

It is for me a great honour and a privilege to celebrate with you the opening of Europalia.India; a festival that will mark, over the next four months, the cultural landscape in and beyond.

Being here with you this evening brings back fond memories from my last trip to India, on the occasion of the EU-India Summit in Delhi in February 2012. In the margins, I was able to visit the dazzling Taj Mahal and mysterious Fatehpur Sikri – an unforgettable experience.

So let me start by congratulating the organisers of Europalia on their wise decision to devote this year's edition to India. Few places in the world have attracted – and deserve – such fascination. Over the centuries, the enigma that is India has caught the minds and imaginations of writers, poets, artists, historians, and explorers, from Vasco de Gama to Alexandra David-Néel and all the way to today.

And rightly so. Indeed, if I may borrow the words of the French writer and Nobel laureate Romain Rolland, "If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India."

Or in more recent words by the Indian writer Namita Gokhale speaking about her country today: "India is a huge paradox – both unchanged and changing, modern yet rooted in tradition – and its literature has so much to say about this radical sense of change."

P R E S S

Dirk De Backer - Spokesperson of the President - ( +32 (0)2 281 9768 - +32 (0)497 59 99 19 Preben Aamann - Deputy Spokesperson of the President - ( +32 (0)2 281 2060 - +32 (0)476 85 05 43 [email protected] http://www.european-council.europa.eu/the-president EUCO 199/13 1 E

In many ways, and India are not unalike: two "sub-continents" on the Eurasian landmass, distinguished by the richness and the variety of their , of their religious and linguistic treasures. India has twenty eight federal states, we have 28 member states! India has twenty two official languages, we have twenty four! Two vibrant and creative societies, that draw strength and inspiration from their long history and living heritage. Societies that find harmony in breathtaking variety, and unity in diversity.

Together, the and India have just celebrated half a century of diplomatic relations, since 1962; next year will mark the tenth anniversary of our strategic partnership. Our political, economic and strategic ties have grown strong, yet we can do more. But our cooperation would be surely incomplete in the absence of an essential ingredient: culture, and the encounters that bring our peoples closer and foster understanding and friendship.

I remain convinced that culture and creativity have an absolutely central role to play in addressing today's challenges – in all our countries and worldwide. Those challenges are of course economic and social but also linked to the functioning of our societies. We have to resist polarization to foster harmony and tolerance. Culture matters in this respect.

Creativity grows through encounters, and the European Union pays great attention to encouraging such opportunities. Let me only mention our programme for academic exchanges Erasmus Mundus, which has allowed many Indian university professors and students to study and travel in Europe, and to their European colleagues to travel and study in India. Our cooperation in the field of research and innovation is also extremely promising.

Allow me to stress once again how much the European Union values its relations with India, the largest democracy in the world and an ever-surprising country. Both the European Union and India face enormous although different challenges. The contribution that together India and we in Europe, two cradles of civilisation, can make for a more prosperous and just world cannot be underestimated. There is still an untapped potential.

Let us both be inspired by India's greatest son in modern times, Mahatma Gandhi. One can only agree with what Albert Einstein said about him. "The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking human being of the entire civilized world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come. Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood".

Europalia.India will definitely contribute to this long-term endeavour of bringing our peoples together. Let me therefore conclude by praising once again all those who made the organisation of such an event possible. Thank you.

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