Antigua and Barbuda has congratulated India on its historic achievement of
successfully landing a craft near the Moon’s South Pole on Wednesday.
The congratulatory message was penned by Foreign Affairs Minister, E.P Chet
Greene and dispatched to the Indian High Commission in Guyana, noting that
India has given the developing world much cause to celebrate.
“India’s moon landing is an important step for further lunar exploration, and India
is to be congratulated on this major achievement,” he declared as he greeted the
news that India has made history by becoming the first country ever to land on the
moon’s South Pole.
Minister Greene declared that “India has given the developing world good cause to
continue to reach for the moon.”
“Antigua and Barbuda extends its sense of great pride to the Government and
people of India and to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) that
managed the moon landing. We are all inspired by this accomplishment,” said
Minister Greene.
With this achievement, India joins an elite club of countries to achieve a soft
landing on the Moon, after the US, the former Soviet Union, and China.
The Vikram lander from Chandrayaan-3 successfully touched down as planned at
18:04 local time (12:34 GMT).
Celebrations have broken out across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi saying, "India is now on the Moon."
"We have reached where no other country could. It's a joyous occasion," he added.
Mr. Modi was watching the event live from South Africa where he is attending the
BRICS summit.
Indian Space Research Organisation’s chief Sreedhara Panicker Somanath said the
successful landing "is not our work alone, this is the work of a generation of ISRO
scientists."
India's achievement comes just days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of
control and crashed into the Moon.
Antigua and Barbuda congratulates India on first moon landing
