I wish to begin by conveying the sense of strong affinity and solidarity of the people of India for the people of Egypt and the Arab world. I congratulate His Excellency President Hosni Mubarak on his assuming the chairmanship of the Non Aligned Movement. Mr. Chairman, we know that your profound wisdom and able guidance will take our Movement forward. You will have India’s fullest support.I also wish to express our deep appreciation to His Excellency President Raul Castro of Cuba for his leadership of NAM over the last three years.
Meeting as we do on Arab soil, my thoughts turn to the people of Palestine, who have endured great suffering and hardship. Our Movement must do more to facilitate a comprehensive, just, lasting and peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue. The Nonaligned Movement owes a great deal to the visionary zeal of its founding fathers like President Tito, Pandit Nehru, President Nasser and also those who carried this vision forward like President Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi . At the first NAM Conference in 1961, India’s first Prime Minister and one of the founding fathers of the Movement, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said, and I quote “The power of nations assembled here is not military power or economic power, nevertheless it is power. Call it moral force”. Unquote. Full Story
PM attends G8-G5 Summit
Prime Minister of India attended the Summit meeting of the G-8 and G-5 countries hosted in the city of L’Aquila on July 9-10 by the Italian Presidency of the G-8.
He also attended a meeting of the leaders of the G5 group of countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa). That summit also marked the first steps towards expanding G8 with the launching of the Heiligendamm Dialogue Process (HDP) on four themes with the G5 -- cross-border investment, promoting and protecting innovation, mainly IPRs, energy security and development, particularly in Africa. The G8 and G5 have reached a broad understanding of extending this process by another two years.
However, work will begin on the next phase of this process at L’Aquila and would be called the Heiligendamm-L’Aquila Process (HAP). Italy has already prepared a concept paper on this and this summit will authorise officials to draw up a”substantive report” for the leaders to consider at the next summit in Muskoka, Canada. A final report will be given at the 2011 summit being hosted by France. Even as the G8 and G5 move forward on a roadmap to bring them closer, the L’Aquila Summit will witness extraordinary participation with at least a dozen more countries invited for different discussions. These include Australia, Indonesia, Egypt, Denmark, Turkey, the Netherlands and some other African countries.
The three key themes are:
Global economic crisis: On the first day, July 8, the G8 and G5 held separate discussions with the G5 expected to draw up a political declaration by the evening. The next morning, the G8 and G5 along with Egypt had detailed meeting on the global economy. China is keen to have a debate on the future of the dollar as the global reserve currency. India has said it is open to discussing all ideas while a strong response is expected from the G8.
Climate change: On the second day, July 9, a major economies meeting is planned for the afternoon. It is learnt that some important technology partnership missions will be agreed at this meeting. G8 countries with other allies are bound to push for commitments on emission cuts from India and China in the run-up to the Copenhagen meet. On this, New Delhi and Beijing had joined hands recently to propose an amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to push developed countries to come up with emission reduction targets for the second commitment period commencing 2013.
Food security: The third day of the summit will focus on this issue with countries from Africa along with representatives of relevant international organisations also being invited.
While it’s clear that the bilateral meets will draw maximum attention, this G8 Summit will witness the difficult interplay among over 25 countries on critical global issues. It will call for deft diplomacy given the way interests are arraigned differently.
PM's opening remarks at the Press Briefing in Sharm El Sheikh
I will today be concluding my visits to France and Egypt, and returning to India. As I said before, India’s participation as the Guest of Honour at France’s National Day was a honour for the people of India, and is a matter of pride for all of us. In my discussions with him, President Sarkozy went out of his way to reaffirm the high priority he attaches to France’s relations with India. We discussed the full range of our bilateral cooperation, including counter-terrorism and defence cooperation. President Sarkozy was categorical in his assertion that France is ready for full civil nuclear cooperation with India in all areas, and there were no limits to this cooperation. I look forward to receiving him in India in the near future.
The NAM Summit in Egypt has reaffirmed the Movement’s significance in today’s context. NAM has evolved into a powerful voice of almost two-thirds of the world’s nations. Our voice has been heard with great attention and I believe the views we have articulated have found widespread resonance within the Nonaligned Movement.
The Summit’s call for bringing the decision-making processes in the international architecture, including the United Nations and the international financial institutions, in tune with contemporary realities reflects the priority which the world attaches to this issue. I am glad that the Summit has heeded our call to strongly condemn international terrorism and on the need for international cooperation to effectively combat it.
I have complimented President Mubarak on his most successful stewardship of the Summit. We are confident that under Egypt’s wise and experienced leadership, the Movement will gain fresh impetus and strength.On the sidelines of the Summit, I met the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Malaysia, the President of Vietnam, and the President of the Palestinian National Authority. Earlier today I called on President Mubarak of Egypt. I hope to meet the Prime Minister of Nepal and President of Sri Lanka later today.
All these countries belong to our immediate and extended neighbourhood. I found a uniform desire among all these countries to further enhance their relations with India. This is a matter of great satisfaction for us. We will reciprocate their friendship to the best of our ability.I have good discussions with Prime Minister Gilani of Pakistan earlier today. During that meeting we discussed the present condition of India-Pakistan relations, its future potential, and the steps that are necessary to enable us to realize the potential. We have agreed on a Joint Statement which is available with you. I return back to India satisfied with my visit and my various interactions with world leaders, which have substantially advanced our national interests.
