HIGH COMMISSION OF INDIA, LONDON
PRESS RELEASE SEPTEMBER 20, 2000
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT FRIENDS OF INDIA LAUNCHED
The Liberal Democrat Friends of India (LDFI) Group was launched on September 19, 2000 in Bournemouth where the Liberal Democrat Party is holding its annual political convention.
Party leader Charles Kennedy formally launched the Group at a Dinner reception hosted by the High Commissioner for India Nareshwar Dayal. Newly-elected Party President Lord Navneet Dholakia announced the formation of the Group and invited Party members to sign the register opened for this purpose. Charles Kennedy was the first to append his signature and by the end of the evening, more than 75 leading members of the Liberal Democrat Party had signed up as members. These include Simon Hughes (Home Affairs Spokesperson), Paul Tyler (Chief Whip of the Party in the House of Commons), Baroness Shirley Williams (Foreign Affairs Spokesperson in the House of Lords), Lord Tim Razall (Chairman of the Campaign Committee) and Lord Geraint (Leader of the Libdems in Wales).
Speaking on the occasion, Charles Kennedy described the launch of the new Group as "historic". He said "We hope that the Libdem friends of India go from strength to strength. We want as many friends of India as possible and as many Libdem friends of India. This Party is a very fundamental and sincere friend of India". Kennedy added that his recent visit to India together with Lord Dholakia and Lord Razall had given him a first hand insight into the functioning of the world’s largest democracy.
Lord Dholakia, in his address, said that the new Group was formed primarily to learn more about the functioning of the Indian democratic system, promote stronger Indo-UK relations and foster closer ties between the peoples of the two countries.
High Commissioner of India, Nareshwar Dayal, while congratulating the Liberal Democrats for this initiative, expressed the hope that it would lead to even closer ties between India and the UK, as also with the Liberal Democrat Party.
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20th September, 2000