PM Narendra Modi receives the Seoul Peace Prize in South Korea
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today received the Seoul Peace Prize from the South Korean government in recognition of his service to international cooperation, global growth and human development. "I am honoured to be awarded the Seoul Peace Prize. I believe that this award belongs not to me personally, but to the people of India. The award belongs to the success India has seen in less than five years, powered by 1.5 billion people," PM Modi said after taking the award.
"I am even more honoured that this award has been given to me on the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi's birth. It makes it even more special," said the Prime Minister.
The PM arrived in Seoul on Thursday in his second visit to the Asian nation after his state visit in May 2015.
"Since 1988, the world has changed vastly... one of them being global poverty, which has declined significantly... But the challenges today are quite different too... Climate Change and terrorism are the two greatest threats the world faces today," PM Modi said.
"The time has come for all right-thinking nations to join hands to completely eradicate terrorist networks. Only by doing so, Can we replace hate with harmony; destruction with development and transform the landscape of violence and vendetta into a postcard for peace," PM Modi said.
"Like Korea, India has also suffered the pain of division and cross-border strife. Our endeavour towards peaceful development has only too often been derailed by cross-border terrorism," he said, as back home the country mourned the deaths of 40 CRPF soldiers in the Pulwama suicide attack last week and an angry nation called for revenge.
He is the 14th recipient of the award sponsored by the Seoul Peace Prize Foundation. Past winners include former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and international relief organisations like Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam.
A short film on the life of PM Modi was also screened at the grand event. While conferring the award, the organisers acknowledged his policies such as the notes ban that it said contributed to the growth of the economy.
The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul. It has its genesis in the Korean people's yearning for peace in the Korean peninsula.