New Delhi/IBNS: In a historic moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Parliament of Guyana on Thursday. He is the first Indian Prime Minister to do so.

A special session of the Parliament was convened by Guyana Parliament Speaker Manzoor Nadir for the address.

In his address, the Prime Minister recalled the longstanding historical ties between India and Guyana.

He thanked the Guyanese people for being bestowed with the highest honor of the country.

He noted that in spite of the geographical distance between India and Guyana, shared heritage and democracy brought the two nations close together.

Underlining the shared democratic ethos and common human-centric approach of the two countries, he noted that these values helped them to progress on an inclusive path.

The Prime Minister noted that India’s mantra of ‘humanity first’ inspires it to amplify the voice of the Global South, including at the recent G-20 Summit in Brazil.

"After Corona, where the world was supposed to move towards a new world order, it got entangled in other things. In these circumstances, the strongest mantra for moving forward in front of the world today is  Democracy First - Humanity First," PM Modi said.

"The spirit of 'Democracy First' teaches us to take everyone along, take everyone along and participate in everyone's development. The spirit of 'Humanity First' determines the direction of our decisions. When we make Humanity First the basis of our decisions, the results are also in the interest of humanity," he said.

India, he further noted, wants to serve humanity as Vishwabandhu, a friend to the world, and this seminal thought has shaped its approach towards the global community where it gives equal importance to all nations-big or small.

PM Modi called for giving primacy to women-led development to bring greater global progress and prosperity.

He urged for greater exchanges between the two countries in the field of education and innovation so that the potential of the youth could be fully realized.

Conveying India’s steadfast support to the Caribbean region, he thanked President Ali for hosting the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit.

Underscoring India’s deep commitment to further strengthening India-Guyana historical ties, he stated that Guyana could become the bridge of opportunities between India and the Latin American continent.

He concluded his address by quoting the great son of Guyana Chhedi Jagan who had said, "We have to learn from the past and improve our present and prepare a strong foundation for the future.” He invited Guyanese Parliamentarians to visit India.