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Iain Duncan
Smith MP
Leader of the Opposition
Foreword to the 14th Edition
- 2001
I am delighted to contribute
the foreword to the 14th edition
of the Asian Who's Who International
Directory and to be attending
the Gala Dinner to launch it.
There can be no doubt that
the British Asian community
makes an outstanding contribution
to the strength, prosperity
and success of the United Kingdom.
In so many aspects of our national
life, business, the arts, the
professions and the media, British
Asians are rightly playing a
leading role. That is something
I warmly welcome.
Yet we need to go further and
encourage British Asians to
become more active in the mainstream
of political life too. So one
of my priorities will be to
bring many more people from
ethnic minority communities
into my Party at every level.
I want the Party to be open
to everybody, irrespective of
his or her background.
British society today is diverse,
embracing many different cultures
and traditions, I regard that
as a source of strength. It
follows that any political party
wanting to represent the whole
nation must seek to be truly
representative of the nation.
I believe in a United Kingdom
that is genuinely open, inclusive
and tolerant in which there
is no place for bigotry. It
is a country that allows us
to hold on to those things that
make us distinctive, while at
the same time enabling us to
come together a British citizens.
The achievements of so many
British Asians is one of our
country's great success stories
over recent years, a fact reflected
in the publication of the latest
Asian Who's Who Internatioal
It is a success story I look
forward to seeing continue for
many years to come.
The Rt Hon Iain Duncan
Smith MP
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