"Ayodhya has not just religious connotations but also cultural ramifications," Honorary Consul General of Albania to India says

Kukreja said that, for him, the project was not just religious but also aimed at transforming Ayodhya into a global tourist destination.

"For me first and foremost, it's a sense of gratitude. It's a feeling of being blessed, of being able to be involved in a project which has historical ramifications, which has a global impact. Truly the opportunity to create the vision plan and master plan for the city of Ayodhya was something that we embraced with open arms and with a great sense of responsibility because I believe that Ayodhya has not just great religious connotations but also cultural and spiritual ramifications, and added to it is the fact that it will become and has already become on the global map a global tourist destination," he told ANI.

He emphasised the importance of carefully planning the city's development to balance the needs of both residents and visitors.

"So from that point of view, for me to design and create the vision plan of this city was very important. How do I balance the residents of Ayodhya, their aspirations and the enormous number of people who would be visiting Ayodhya maybe once in their lifetime? They are coming with lots of expectations. How do they go back to fulfilling their dreams and aspirations?" he said.

Kukreja further stated that his vision for Ayodhya includes developing it as a "green and blue" city, restoring the Sarayu River, and ensuring a range of accommodations beyond just luxury tourism.

"So from that point of view of creating great public spaces, creating Ayodhya as a green and blue city, reviving the Sarayu River, bringing in lots of gardens and forests as we all and read about in Ramayana providing facilities for tourists of all economic ranges, not just luxury tourism, but right from giving dormitories to the new concept of homestay apartments so that people when they come and live in, they don't just come and live in a hotel, but they get a complete flavour of living in that city and that also increases the economic abilities of the residents of Ayodhya," he told ANI.

"So all in all, my goal, my vision of that vision plan was to create Ayodhya as a modern, yet it's entrenched in its deep historical values. It's a global spiritual destination, a global tourist destination, and also a living example of sustainable design," he added.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue, Kukreja highlighted the unique bond between India and Albania, noting that Mother Teresa, an Albanian by birth, spent most of her life in India.

"I am representing Albania as the honorary Consul General to India. And I think the relationship between these two countries is unique, and I say that because at the base at the fulcrum of this relationship, as an individual who brought us two nations together, Mother Teresa, who was born in Albania and lived her life in India and served the world, is somebody who is a common bond between the two countries," he said.

He noted that, despite differences in population size, diplomatic and cultural relations between India and Albania remain strong.

"But going forward in today's world, we see that the kind of cultural relations, the kind of Diplomatic relations, the kind of political relations between the two countries are rock solid, extremely cordial. Both countries have people who have a sense of pride and want to move ahead. Progress is the benchmark of both India and Albania. They are both fast-growing economies in the world and yet they are very people-friendly. So I think there's a lot to learn. One is a very small country with 2.5 million people. The other is slightly larger with 1.4 billion people. Yet if you scratch the surface, you find that the two countries share more bonds than you can imagine," he told ANI.

Drawing comparisons between India and Albania, Kukreja said that both nations have a peace-loving approach.

"If we look at the foreign policy of Albania, it has always maintained a very peace-loving approach. It has never believed in or engaged in any kind of conflict, and Albania is another country like India which embraces people irrespective of colour, creed, or even nationality," he said.

He cited Albania's role in aiding Afghan refugees after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. IsraAID collaborated with activists and governments to evacuate 167 vulnerable Afghans, who arrived in Albania in October, joining around 650 others staying in Kolaveri, a resort on Albania's west coast that functioned as an emergency shelter.

"So even when you have had the exodus in Afghanistan, Albania brought in so many Afghans and made them feel at home. So this is the true culture. Albania has and in that sense shares its bond with India. So I feel that the two countries today have the ability, have the opportunity to be able to make an impact on global politics, the geopolitics, while Albania is certainly part of Europe, it is part of NATO, and it will soon become a part of the EU. So in that sense, it has a very important role to play. It is at the forefront of the Balkan region. But when I say the fundamentals between the two countries of being peace-loving countries is something which I think is a very important shared bond, and in that sense, Albania in the Balkan region and India of course globally can play that role of bringing countries which engage in conflict more on the peace," he said. (ANI)