STATEMENT BY THE PM ON HIS DEPARTURE
FOR CHOGM
Following is the
full text of the statement by the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee prior to his departure for Abuja, Nigeria to attend the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), today.:
"I leave today
for Abuja to attend the Summit meeting of the Commonwealth Heads
of Government.
The Commonwealth
is a group of countries which share political values of democracy,
human freedoms and rule of low. Most Commonwealth members are
also developing countries with common concerns about development
and the promotion of rule-based international trading and investment
regimes. As democracies, we face similar transnational threats
from terrorism, drug trafficking, arms smuggling and money laundering,
all which are closely interrelated.
Commonwealth leaders
will exchange views on these issues at the Summit. The special
theme of the Abuja Summit – Democracy and Development – provides
an opportunity for the Commonwealth to ponder on the important
developmental questions which today engage developing democracies
as they grapple with the challenges of globalization.
A Summit of this
nature also provides occasion for formal and informal bilateral
discussions with a number of other world leaders. Though I will
not be in Abuja for the entire duration of the Summit, I expect
to have the opportunity to interact with a fairly wide cross-section
of Commonwealth leaders.
I am happy that Nigeria
is hosting the Commonwealth Summit and look forward to meeting
President Obasanjo in Abuja. Nigeria is one of India’s most important
friends in Africa, besides being our largest trading partner in
the continent. We have had a long-standing association in the
Non Aligned Movement and in the struggle against colonialism and
apartheid in the second half of the twentieth century."
