Trident Hotel, Bandra Kurla, Mumbai
July 18, 2019
It gives me genuine and great pleasure to finally be here on this historic occasion and to propose these welcoming remarks.
Allow me at the outset to express our most sincere thanks to our Chief Guest for accepting our invite on such a short notice and especially for making time out of your tight schedule. Thank you so much, Sir.
Let me also thank the Tanzanian High - Level Delegation led by the Honourable Minister of Works, Transport and Communications for making it possible to have this inaugural ceremony.
I know and am pretty much aware of the great work that characterized the preparations of this day. I must point out that a lot has been accomplished, so far through consultation, communication and coordination under the able-leadership of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ATCL. Thank you very much Mister Managing Director and your team.
I should like to thank the ATCL Country Manager and The Chief Security Officer for working so hard to make things the way they look like today. It has never been easy, but a worthy assignment for you. I hope you will be able to work together as a team to address the few logistical challenges that could not be finalized within the short time allocated to you.
It would a remiss on my part if I did not recognize the role played by Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in facilitating the fulfillment of all the necessary requirements in good time. Mister Regional Director, please accept our sincere appreciations.
In the same vein, I wish to acknowledge the support rendered by the Ministry of External Affairs from the very start to this end. And let me also thank the advance team from ATCL for the job well done, I must and should also thank Dr. Kheri Goloka from Tanzania High Commission for teaming up so well. It is because of your excellent ground work that we are able to preside over this event.
It would be foolhardy if I did not recognize the immense support we received from our friends –the CISB! I cannot thank you enough. And thank you also for gracing this event tonight. By the same token, I thank the GSA for the initial job well done. I do hope you will continue to do so during the teething phase of our Dreamliner.
I wish to also mention right here that the inaugural ceremony that we have tonight is a result of joint effort and the support from a number of institutions and individuals. I will skip mentioning each one of them because of the time allotted to me. But it suffices to mention that we value your contribution in making this event what it is today.
You will certainly appreciate that the venue and timing of launching of Air Tanzania are quite appropriate for the following reasons:
Number one; Mumbai and Dar es Salaam are the two great commercial hubs for India and Tanzania. The two major cities are connected by the Indian Ocean and happen to be two major ports.
The airline connectivity which had suffered a big blow when Air Tanzania, followed by Air India closed down operations in the 90’s and, therefore its coming back could not have come at a better time than now. We do hope and praying too to see Air India follows suit.
Secondly; it is about the timing of the resumption of this direct flight. It's just come at an opportune moment when the bilateral engagements between India and Tanzania at their very best. And this is not exclusive to G2G but is also revolves around G2B; B2B and people to people interaction.
Statistics which I will not attempt to outline here point that trade and investment between our two countries have been on the increase; the number of medical seekers and education seekers from Tanzania has been on the increase; tourists, honeymooners, Bollywood film shooters have frequented Tanzania more often in the recent past and, I can go on and on.
So, the coming back of this carrier will greatly ease the movements of both Tanzanians and Indians visiting each other and will provide a room for prospering together.
It is also heartwarming that Air Tanzania will largely enable India's access to a market of 160 plus million people of the East African countries as well as to about 450 million people in the SADC region.
At this juncture, I should like to bring a word of caution to our dream liner. You are coming back at a crucial moment that is characterized by competition. It is clear, therefore, that you will have to find ways of improving and strengthening your competitive base so as to survive and attain the desired output. And I must add that even the most earnest desire to do better than in the previous, will remain unfulfilled dream unless the capacity for better performance is built and nurtured.
For all this, I take this opportunity to declare to you that my office remains fully committed to working with you towards the realization of your vision and mission.
I should like to end my remarks by wishing the High Level Delegation a safe return journey and all the success to Air Tanzania.
Once again, our sincere appreciations to all our Distinguished Guests for honouring us with your presence. Bon voyage to the passengers taking this flight.
