A meeting was held at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India, Yashwant Sinha, who was on a business visit to our country. The meeting was attended by State Duma deputies, senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Moscow City Hall, scientists, and journalists.

Yashwant Sinha delivered a report on India's foreign policy. He devoted a significant part of his report to relations between India and Russia.

India-Russia relations, he said, have stood the test of time. They are based on continuity, trust and mutual understanding. There is a consensus in Indian society on the need for a stable partnership with Russia.

Yashwant Sinha stressed that the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India in December 2002 was an important milestone in the further development and strengthening of bilateral relations.

In recent years, our countries have signed such documents as the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, the Declaration on Combating International Terrorism, and a number of important economic, scientific and technical agreements. These documents revealed the common interests of both countries and defined guidelines for further bilateral cooperation.

Speaking about the economic ties between India and Russia, the speaker noted that both countries have huge potential opportunities in this area, which are not yet fully used. But even now, the two countries are successfully developing cooperation in such areas as mechanical engineering, information technology and telecommunications, space exploration, nuclear energy, pharmaceuticals and biology, and the food industry. India is investing heavily in an oil production project in Sakhalin, while Russia is involved in the construction of India's $ 1.7 billion Kudankula nuclear power plant. India and Russia have signed agreements on cooperation in the interbank sphere. Russian - Indian defense cooperation is of a long-term nature, with a program developed until 2010.

Issues of cooperation between the two countries are coordinated by the intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation*.

India and Russia, Yashwant Sinha noted, are facing global challenges from international terrorism. India has been fighting this evil for a long time in Kashmir, and Russia in Chechnya. Here and there, hotbeds of terrorism are fueled and financed by external forces. India has consistently called on the international community to make countering terrorism the highest priority in international relations. It is not enough to take measures only against participants of terrorist acts, the Minister stressed, the efforts of the international community should be directed against those who support and harbor terrorists. By signing the Declaration on Combating International Terrorism, India and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to uproot this evil and ensure peace and stability.

Yashwant Sinha focused the audience's attention on the state of India's relations with a number of neighboring countries. India's largest neighbor is China. India, the Minister said, is interested in expanding relations with this country on the basis of Pancha shila - the five principles of peaceful coexistence, taking into account mutual interests and equality of the parties. The Minister stressed that we are ready to develop cooperation with China on the basis of dialogue aimed at resolving our differences.

Referring to India's relations with Pakistan, Yashwant Sinha said there are a number of difficulties in this area. India has no hostile feelings towards the people of Pakistan. After all, India has more Muslims than the entire population of Pakistan. A liberal society has been created and is developing in India. In Pakistan, the dominant role is played by the army, whose leadership pursues an unfriendly policy towards India, which is reflected in Pakistan's support for the activities of terrorist organizations on its territory, which complicate the situation in Kashmir and relations between the two countries in general.

India's relations with the new Afghanistan are developing in a positive spirit. We support the efforts of the Karzai administration aimed at national reconciliation, economic reconstruction and social reconstruction in the country.

India is providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Indian medical personnel are working in Kabul and Mazar-I-Sharif to restore the health of disabled Afghans. According to Yashwant Sinha, we have pledged to provide Afghanistan with one million tons of wheat as humanitarian aid.

Speaking about India's attitude to the Iraq issue, Yashwant Sinha said that India supports the implementation of UN resolutions and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction if they are found there. However, we believe that any action against Iraq should be taken only with the consent of the UN. The economic sanctions imposed on Iraq should be lifted, provided that Iraq acts in accordance with UN decisions.

Yashwant Sinha answered the questions of the meeting participants.

* The Chairman of this commission on the Indian side is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, Yashwant Sinha.

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