OPENING REMARKS OF PRIME MINISTER AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN ALMATY
Following is the text of the Prime
Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s opening remarks at the end
- of -the visit Press Conference at Almaty today.
"I am happy to meet mediapersons
at the end of my first visit to Kazakhstan – indeed, to Central
Asia. Historically, this extended neighbourhood of ours has been
very close to our hearts. It is linked to India through ties of
history, culture and spirituality. With the countries of Central
Asia becoming independent, a new geo-political reality, of great
significance to us, has come into being in this part of the world
after the end of the Cold War. India wishes to strengthen her
ties with all the countries of the region, imparting a multi-dimensional
character to them. I would call it the new "Silk Route Initiative"
of India’s foreign policy, It will seek to build a new Silk Road
of Friendship and Cooperation between India and Central Asia.
My visit, which began on June 2,
had the principal aim of sharing the desire for peace, prosperity
and progress with Kazakhstan, the largest country in the region.
During my stay in Almaty, I have seen for myself Kazakhstan’s
impressive progress over the last ten years. I have had very friendly
meetings with the President of Kazakhstan, Mr. Nulsultan Nazarbaev.
In our bilateral meeting on 3rd
June, President Nazarbaev and I reviewed the extremely fast pace
of progress in our relations since February, 2002 when he had
come to India on a state visit. We have now identified Energy,
Information Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Small Scale Industries
and Defence Cooperation as areas for special focus. I am glad
that both CII and FICCI were also present in Almaty with large
delegations. These business leaders informed me that they see
great opportunities for Indo-Kazakh economic cooperation. CII
and FICCI have both decided to set up an office each in Kazakhstan.
I would like this flag of business friendship to be carried to
other Central Asian countries as well.
India and Kazakhstan have now set
up a Joint Working Group Against International Terrorism and another
Agreement to promote Tourism. A Memorandum of Understanding on
Military and Technical Cooperation was also signed.
Besides my extensive meetings with
the President of Kazakhstan, I also met with the President of
Tajikistan, Mr. Emomali Rakhmanov. I was touched by the great
warmth shown by President Rakhmanov. He invited me to visit Tajikistan
and I have accepted his invitation. I conveyed to him our fraternal
greetings to the people of Tajikistan, wishing him success in
his country’s struggle against terrorism and extremism.
My meetings with the Presidents of
Kazakhstan and Tajikistan have reinforced my conviction that a
great opportunity beckons us to work together with all the countries
of Central Asia. Together, we should be partners in tomorrow’s
mutually beneficial progress. Besides the obvious benefits in
cooperation in Energy, there is a strategic logic to our "Silk
Route Initiative".
On the eve of the first CICA Summit,
Kazakhstan extended a special gesture to India. President Nazarbaev
joined me in naming a beautiful road of Almaty after Mahatma Gandhi.
I was deeply touched by this dedication to the Apostle of Peace
just before the CICA Summit.
On 4th June, I participated
in the "Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures
in Asia (CICA)". This Conference was aimed at spreading the
message of peace, security and friendship so that peoples of Asia
could concentrate on removal of poverty and promotion of socio-economic
development through close bilateral and regional cooperation.
This, indeed, was India’s principal motivation behind our unstinted
cooperation over the last 10 years in the CICA process. In my
address at the Summit, I conveyed the message that deeper and
broader Asian cooperation, with emphasis on conflict-resolution
through dialogue, is the key to unleashing the full potential
of Asia for peace and development both in our own continent and
around the world.
I also shared my hope for a new vision
for Asia based on our inheritance of some of the greatest civilizations
and spiritual traditions in the world, emphasizing that tolerance
and equal respect for all faiths has to be recognized as a universal
principle in the new inter-dependent world we live in. In this
context, I emphasized the need to defeat the forces of terrorism
and religious extremism through an intensified global struggle.
I am happy that most participating states had a similar vision
for Asia.
I took the opportunity of the CICA
summit to convey to the peoples and governments of Asia, India’s
deep concern over cross-border terrorism aimed at destabilizing
our country. I said that India has taken due note of the repeated
assurances from the President of Pakistan to stop infiltration
of terrorists into India and all terrorist activities conducted
from Pakistani soil in the name of Kashmir. So far, India and
the world community have not seen the results of these assurances
on the ground. I have clearly conveyed that India is ready for
dialogue with Pakistan on all issues, including the issue of Jammu
& Kashmir, when cross-border terrorism ends.
Of great significance to India and
the entire Asian and global community are the two documents signed
at the CICA summit – the "Almaty Act" and the "CICA
Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting Dialogue Among
Civilizations". I wish to draw the attention of the media
to just one of the important commitments enjoined on all the signatories
to the Almaty Act.
"Separatism
is one of the main threats and challenges to the security
and stability, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity
of states. The Member States shall not support on the territory
of another Member State any separatist movements and entities,
and, if such emerge, not to establish political, economic
and other kinds of relations with them, not to allow the territories
and communications of the Member States to be used by the
above-mentioned movements and entities, and not to render
them any kind of economic, financial and other assistance."
I held warm and friendly bilateral
talks with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I conveyed to him
India’s appreciation of Russia’s strong and consistent support
for our stand on terrorism. We are keenly looking forward to his
visit to India in December.
I had a fruitful bilateral meeting
with President Jiang Zemin of China. We discussed bilateral and
CICA-related issues.
I was happy to have had the opportunity
of meeting Chairman Hamid Karzai of the Interim Administration
of Afghanistan. We discussed regional issues including the residual
problems of the war against terrorism in that country. We believe
that the forthcoming Loya Jirgah will be one more important step
in strengthening independence, democracy and peace in Afghanistan.
I also had the opportunity of meeting
the President of Turkey, Mr. N. Sezer. We discussed issues of
bilateral importance".