?It is now up to this meeting to find the ways and means that will make our contribution both materially constructive and emotionally satisfying to both sides.? So said the Mauritian prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, in his speech as guest of honour at the inaugural session of the 6th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Engaging the Diaspora was the theme of the conference that ended yesterday in New Delhi.

One of the main initiatives announced by the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, was the ?proposal to promote an India Development Foundation as an autonomous non-for-profit trust, examined by the ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs?. He stressed that the foundation ?will serve as a credible institutional mechanism to direct overseas Indian philanthropic propensities into human development efforts in India?.

The Indian PM also announced that he would establish a Prime Minister?s Global Advisory Council of People of Indian Origin. ?The Council would be composed of people of Indian origin from a variety of disciplines who are recognised as leaders in their respective fields, not only in their country of residence but globally as well. The Council would serve as a high level platform for the prime minister to draw upon the experience and knowledge of the best Indian minds wherever they may be based.?

As overseas Indians have made their name in politics and business, arts and literature, science and academics, and are among the highest-earning communities in many countries, India should be able to take advantage of this success.

He also paid tribute to the ?strides made by women. Indra Nooyi, Sunita Williams, Kalpana Chawla and Jhumpa Lahiri are role models for our society seeking to give women a rightful place?. While Indra Nooyi is the CEO of the US food and beverages giant PepsiCo, Sunita Williams set a new women?s space walking record last year during her 195-day stay in space. While Kalpana Chawla, also an Indian-American astronaut, perished in the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster, teacher-turned-author Jhumpa Lahiri won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

For Navin Ramgoolam, ?it is a matter of satisfaction that India has recognised the unique potential of Pravasi Indians to contribute to its emergence as a global player. The networking that successive Pravasi Bharatiya Divas have engendered among Indian communities settled in different countries could be of enormous significance as the world becomes ever more interconnected and integrated?.

The Mauritian PM further reminded how the cooperation between Mauritius and India has been thriving for several years in fields such as education and training, culture, science, development assistance, trade and investment. ?This would not have been possible without the deep commitment of both India and the fragment of the diaspora that has made Mauritius its home.?

?The networking that successive Pravasi Bharatiya Divas have engendered among Indian communities settled in different countries could be of enormous significance as the world becomes ever more interconnected and integrated.?

He insisted that the Indian diaspora in Mauritius could be considered as an example for the world. ?The Indo-Mauritians are among the most well-established communities of the worldwide Indian diaspora in terms of political participation, economic and social integration and cultural affirmation.? Mauritius has also benefited a lot from the Mauritians of Indian origin. ?They have reinforced the key values in our society: the importance of family life, the improvement of our children through education, industry, enterprise, tolerance and mutual respect.?

As Manmohan Singh stated when he addressed the audience, ?Each one of you represents the idea of India in different parts of the world.?

Navin Ramgoolam also reminded the audience of the strong links that bind Mauritius with India. Some infrastructures and dates are witnesses of this bond. The Indian Immigration Archives at Mahatma Gandhi Institute contain the biographical data of more than 400,000 Indian immigrants to Mauritius. ?These archives constitute a tangible link between present-day Mauri-tians and the remote villages from which their ancestors came.?

Likewise, the celebration of the arrival of the first indentured Indian labourers, that is now a public holiday, on 2nd Novem-ber is another proof of the close relationship between the two countries. The Aapravasi Ghat, where half a million indentured labourers first set foot on Mauritian soil is another testimony of this.

More recently, the setting up of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Culture, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Science and Technology and the World Hindi Secretariat have shown ?the strong desire to remain connected to the Indian heritage. We nurture and cultivate this close cultural affinity with India?.