Keynote Address by Minister of State for External Affairs, Shrimati Preneet Kaur
on
‘India –EU Forum on Effective Multilateralism’
Sapru House, New Delhi
10-00 a.m. Friday, 9 October, 2009
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Ambassador Chhatwal, Director General ICWA Ambassador Sudhir Devare, members of the delegation from the European Union Institute of Security Studies and the Indian Council of World Affairs, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I am glad that the Indian council of World Affairs, the oldest think-tank in India on foreign affairs, has significantly stepped up its activities during the past six months during which Ambassador Devare and Joint secretary in the MEA Dr Ramesh Chandra have been here. I congratulate them, and hope that they will carry forward the legacy of the founders of this institution, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru and Hridya Nath Kunzru.
I have great pleasure to be here when the first track II level dialogue between the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) and the Indian Council of World Affairs, two leading think-tanks is taking place. This event reflects the growing realization that the European Union and India are finding increasing interdependence across a wide range of issues and areas. Of late, the EU –India interaction has become multifold. The first bilateral summit was held in Lisbon in 2000. Within 4 years, at the Hague summit, the landmark Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two was signed and in 2005 a Joint Action Plan (JAP) was adopted which is a roadmap for action. The upcoming summit next month in Delhi should further concretize our common resolve for consultation and cooperation.
With the geopolitical centre progressively shifting, it is fairly clear that the EU-India relationship has steadily moved from commercial or economic one to that of strategic partnership though trade and investment continue to be the principal components. In terms of political organization or decision-making, the 27 member European Union and a single state India have obvious differences. The European Union in forging a unique brand of regionalism has undergone an experience of political accommodation and compromise. India, on the other hand, has had a very different kind of history in which it created through non-violence and constitutionalism a secular democratic state. Yet, today, as India and EU interact they find a good deal of coherence on shared values and practices – of democracy, pluralism, human rights, international conflict resolution or peacekeeping. At a time when India is engaged in establishing a partnership with all major powers or regions of the world, the positive response reciprocated by the European Union is a development much welcomed in India.
India and the EU are active players in a multi-polar world constantly shaped by the forces of globalization. Multi-polarity is a reality of the contemporary global order which India and the E.U as pluralist societies readily accept, if not welcome. And they seek to address a number of global issues and challenges through multilateralism. Effective multilateralism requires understanding and respect for mutual concerns, needs or aspirations. It is only through this any coordination and cooperation can develop. The dialogue between the EU and India would need to see how to enhance that mutual understanding or respect so that the issues of peace, security or development that require bilateral or multilateral cooperation can be effectively addressed.
Terrorism is one of the biggest challenges which confronts us today. It threatens the very core of our civilized societies. India has been a victim of terrorism for over two decades. The EU has also witnessed horrific terrorist incidents in recent years caused by Al Qaeda terrorists. India and the EU would need to address, wherever possible, the menace of terrorism with coordination and cooperation. I am happy to learn that the EU Coordinator for Counter-terrorism is attending this Forum and will be sharing his views on the subject this afternoon.
On Afghanistan, again, India has gone through the tragedy of terrorist violence against its Embassy in Kabul last year and civilian personnel working elsewhere in the country on development projects. In fact we just had a similar attack on our Embassy in Kabul yesterday, in which several innocent people of Afghanistan died. India nevertheless believes that the cause of democracy and peace in Afghanistan can be best served through development programmes which the Afghan government and people need most urgently. India has committed to assist them with such assistance estimated at 1.2 billion U.S dollars.
EU and India can also usefully cooperate on security issues, including in areas such as maritime and energy security. India’s recent contribution in anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia or help to keep the SLOCS (sea lanes of communication) in the Malacca Straits safe for navigation is part of its efforts to secure further the Indian Ocean. In the field of energy security where both India and the EU are major importers of fuel, it is imperative for the two to secure safe, affordable and sustainable energy supplies. The India-U.S civil nuclear deal is expected to open new vistas for India with respect to the environment-friendly nuclear source. Countries forming the EU who are also members of the Nuclear Supplies Group (NSG) supported the India-U.S agreement. Some of them, notably France has also signed agreement with India on civilian nuclear energy. As India gears itself for a major expansion of nuclear energy production the EU countries can work for obtaining a large share in this undertaking.
There are two issues which seem to pose a major challenge to the world today. They are Climate Change and the WTO impasse. On Climate Change, though both the EU and India have common interests and emphasize the central role of the global protocols there are clear differences in their approach. Unlike the developed countries of the EU which favour quantitative restrictions on green house gas emissions, India finds it difficult to adopt emission caps given its priority for development and economic growth for large population. ‘Global action is needed by all parties, according to their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, with developed countries taking the lead’ said the joint statement at the recent EU-India summit.
WTO deadlock on the Doha round is another issue that should engage our urgent attention. A multilateral, rule-based universal trading regime is in the best interest of both, developed as well as developing countries and therefore every attempt should be made to resolve the impasse to put the WTO talks on the track. Bilaterally, the EU is India’s largest trading partner with trade between the two having gone up from 2002 to 2008 at 20% on an average. EU is also one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment for India.
As you are aware, in the wake of the international financial and economic crisis, the first G-20 Summit was held in Washington DC (November 15, 2008) marking the arrival of dynamic emerging market countries at the global high table. The London Summit (April 2, 2009) issued a Communique which addressed the broad themes or issues. The steps taken by the G-20, including those emerging from the recent Pittsburgh Summit, to stablilise financial markets and the global economy can be expected to lead to an early revival of private capital flows, and a step up to domestic growth through revival of external demand and exports.
In the pursuit of effective multilateralism no objective is more important than strengthening the role of the U.N. Both EU and India recognize the need to make the multilateral system more responsive to move the global agenda forward. For this it is also essential that the process of decision-making in the U.N and other international bodies such as the IMF, World Bank etc is democratized. Only then issues related to peace and security and UN reforms will be addressed fairly and equitably.
Finally, I wish to stress that greater interaction through civil society networks between the EU and India is essential and should be feasible. The two are democracies and enjoy freedom of expression, judiciary and pursuit of individual faith or religion. They are foremost examples of multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies. Human rights protection receives highest priority in both. Thus, societies based on common values and ideals should find greater resonance and synergy. As the Joint Action Plan very aptly puts it: ‘We see this partnership as a qualitative transformation in the way we engage as equal partners and work together with the world at large’.
I am happy that this dialogue is addressing in an open and candid manner all issues which the EU and India regard important and urgent. Needless to say, we in the Ministry of External Affairs will find these deliberations to be of utmost importance in the context of our Summit-level interaction next month. I wish the deliberations of this conference all success.
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