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The following is text of the opening statement made by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in the Joint Press Conference, with the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Mr. Tony Blair, at the end of the India-UK Summit, held here today:
“I am very happy to welcome Prime Minister Tony Blair. We have had a very successful bilateral summit at Udaipur. Yesterday, we had a historic India-EU Summit, when we endorsed the Action Plan and political declaration to take our Strategic Partnership forward. The United Kingdom Presidency under Prime Minister Tony Blair’s leadership has played a most constructive role in this. I thank Prime Minister Blair for his leadership and commitment he has shown for both these meetings.
This is the third time I have had the pleasure of meeting the Prime Minister since September last year. At our London meeting a year ago, we had adopted a Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership, which outlined the direction, in which we wish to take our relationship forward. Our relationship is very special and one, which contains exceptional potential. Both Governments are determined to realise this potential to the advantage of our people and our bilateral relationship. We welcome the fact that a Joint Economic Commission has been created to systematically advance mutual trade and investments. As a follow-up to the direction given by the Joint Declaration last year, an Indo-British Joint Science & Innovation Council has been set up to explore new hi-technology areas of collaboration.
A Financial and Economic Dialogue at the level of Finance Ministers has also been launched. The Summit has added significance given the simultaneous Presidency of the United Kingdom, of the European Union and the G-8. It was at the initiative of Prime Minister Tony Blair that India with four other developing countries was invited to a dialogue with the G-8 at Gleneagles, giving concrete expression to the partnerships required between the developed and the developing countries in addressing key global issues.
We have agreed to co-operate in civilian nuclear energy. The United Kingdom recognises the need for a supportive international environment for meeting our pressing energy requirements. We have also agreed that our collective efforts to ensure energy security will be accorded priority. I expressed our deepest sympathy and solidarity with the British Government and the British people on the terrorist atrocities that they have recently been subjected to. India as a victim of terrorism, for over two decades, extends its whole-hearted support to Britain. We agreed that there can be no justification whatsoever for terrorism on any grounds – religious, political, ideological, or any other. Together with international unity and resolve, we can meet the challenge of this global scourge and work to bring about an international norm of ‘zero tolerance’ for terrorism. We exchanged views and reached agreements on a wide range of issues. We focussed on measures to significantly enhance our trade and investment exchanges, including in the new and promising area of health care and in promoting exchanges in the area of services. We agreed to intensify co-operation in frontier areas of science and technology and the knowledge sector, in which both our countries have special strengths.
Several MoUs and agreements have been finalised during this meeting. These include co-operation in the area of hydrocarbons, which is important for our overall energy policy, a new air services agreement, an agreement on co-production of films and an agreement on Intellectual Property Rights. Prime Minister Tony Blair has reaffirmed his commitment to India’s candidature for the permanent membership of the expanded Security Council, on which I express our deep appreciation for his Government’s clear and long-held position.
We also had a very good exchange of views on developments in our respective nations. I conveyed that we have decided that a Chair named after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru will be founded at Cambridge University by the Government of India. We welcome Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Education Initiative, which will significantly enhance student exchanges and academic relationship at the university level between our two countries.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that India attaches very high priority to our relations with the United Kingdom. Our ties are growing in every sphere, as we give concrete meaning to a very comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
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YSR/HK/KK
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