Press Briefings
Joint Press Interaction of Minister of State for External Affairs Mr. Anand Sharma and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Mozambique Mr. Oldemiro Baloi
19/02/2009
February 19, 2009
Hyderabad House, New Delhi
Official Spokesperson (Shri Vishnu Prakash): A very good evening to all of you and welcome to the Joint Press Interaction. Minister of State for External Affairs would be making an opening statement. Next, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Mozambique would be making a statement.
Sir, the floor is yours.
Minister of State for External Affairs (Shri Anand Sharma): Mr. Oldemiro Baloi, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique; distinguished members of the Mozambique Delegation; Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs Shri Nalin Surie; members of the Indian Delegation; and members of the media:
This is the second Joint Commission between India and Mozambique which has concluded today. The senior officials of the two Governments were engaged in discussing the cooperation and also to identify the priority sectors to further deepen and diversify an engagement which is strong, based on trust and friendship.
Our relationship in recent years goes back to the struggle for freedom in Mozambique. India’s consistent support and solidarity and after that an abiding commitment to be a true friend and partner in fulfilling, or helping to fulfill the developmental aspirations of Mozambique and its people. We have good understanding between our two countries; and our working together is in the true spirit of South-South cooperation. The various areas of engagement are from agriculture to energy, to rail and coal sector, infrastructure and also, if I may add, what is of importance is capacity building, human resource development through the ITEC programme and the ICCR scholarships of India. We have also been extending lines of credit for specific projects in these sectors which I have mentioned.
We have so far, before this Joint Commission, extended lines of credit of US $ 115 million. We have today made another offer of 25 million as additional line of credit; and another US $ 1 million as a grant from the Government of the Republic of India. There is enormous potential of enhancing the cooperation, which we view as important, in other sectors and expanding (it) when we talk of energy sector as also in oil and gas where Indian majors have evinced interest. Many of our public and private sector corporates have presence; and we do hope that their engagement will further increase. We will also be encouraging more investments in agriculture sector and value addition.
You would know that in April last year we had the first India-Africa Summit. At the Summit, a Framework Cooperation Agreement was adopted which opens new pathways of cooperation between India and Africa, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. At that Summit, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Hon. Prime Minister of India, had made some major announcements. One of the announcements was on the duty-free and tariff preference access to Indian markets for fifty least-developed countries, which include Mozambique, giving access to the huge Indian market for the products manufactured in Mozambique. We hope that this will help in small and medium enterprises in your country. We would also like to reaffirm our commitment to share our developmental experiences, our technology, in these sectors which we have discussed and identified.
We have also had good cooperation between the two countries in the multilateral forums. We have shared views on the restructuring and the orderly transformation of the political and economic architecture in the world, including the expansion of the Security Council so that it reflects the contemporary realities and is truly representative and democratic.
The Foreign Minister of Mozambique, His Excellency Mr. Baloi has, during our discussions and the Joint Commission meeting, conveyed the sympathies and strong solidarity of the people and Government of Mozambique over the dastardly terrorist carnage in Mumbai; and we deeply appreciate the strong position which has been taken by the Government of Mozambique, by the Africa Union, and our friends throughout the world.
With these remarks, I would like now to invite the Foreign Minister of Mozambique Mr. Baloi to make his statement.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Mozambique (Mr. Oldemiro Baloi): Your Excellency Minister Sharma, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of India; distinguished Indian Delegation; the press; Mozambiquan Delegation; ladies and gentlemen:
Mr. Sharma made a very comprehensive statement that reflects accurately what has been going on during these days. For Mozambique, India is among the strategic partners. We are used to learn from India how to liberate a country from the oppressors, how to move from poverty to development, how to extend friendship and solidarity towards friends, and openness towards the non-friends. So, all those experiences of India are a source of inspiration for Mozambique.
By coming here, we are just willing to give a boost to the excellent relationship that the two countries enjoy. The areas covered by this cooperation cover the whole spectrum of politics, economy, culture and you name it. So, we do not have any kind of hidden space when it comes to cooperation between our countries.
It is touching for Mozambique to see that in spite of the fact that India is facing some daunting challenges in terms of security, which is financially demanding, it still finds space, resources, to keep helping Mozambique. This is really touching for us and we are grateful indeed for the consistent way India has been assisting Mozambique.
But we are basically partners. We also have things to offer in several fields one of them being, for example, the energy sector. We have coal, we have gas; and if we would be lucky, we may have oil one of these days. So, these are resources to be shared with those who have been sharing with us many important things. You are experienced in railways. India is involved in one big project at this point in time. We, most of the time, call it the project due to the huge impact it is going to have on the economy of Mozambique and that of the region.
We are happy with the cooperation with India because it meets the four pillars that we are focusing on to address the issue of eliminating poverty, that is, infrastructure, human resource development. In this regard, particularly, vocational training, improving the skills of the people so that they can at grassroots level, in remote areas and rural areas uplift the standard of living of the poor population there. Third, is the development of the private sector. And fourth, last but not least, is the promotion and attraction of foreign investment. India is involved, heavily involved, in these four pillars. That is why we, among other things, consider India to be among our strategic partners. So, as I was saying, by coming here we want to boost, we want to consolidate this kind of relationship and move as fast as we can to a even better win-win situation.
We also play a joint role. Usually we share the points of view of the positions in the international arena. Now we have a big challenge of taking care or moving on with the reform of the United Nations, particularly of Security Council. At this point in time, we have different groups of friends spread in different positions. We have the Group of 4; we have the Consensus Group; and we have the African Group as well and we usually abide by the African position. So, we think that there are a lot of things to be done yet so that we come closer to a position that is bound to win when we discuss with those who are already there because we have a double challenge here. One is to have a consensus among ourselves, and the other one, the most difficult, is to persuade those who are already there at Security Council that they have to open the space for others. So, this double challenge is something to be won for sure. And for that purpose we fully count on India, its experience, its commitment and determination to go ahead with this.
Once again, I would like to, on my behalf and on behalf of my delegation, thank you for your warm welcome and hospitality. I thank you all.
Official Spokesperson: Excellency, thank you very much for your remarks. The Ministers will now be taking a few questions. I would request you to please introduce yourself and your organization, and also indicate whom the question is addressed to.
Question (Mr Manish Chand, Indo Asian News Service): This question is addressed to Mozambique Foreign Minister. Excellency, what is your view of recent terror attacks in India; and when you speak about strategic partnership how can India and Mozambique and India and Africa as a whole solidify strategic partnership, security partnership, counter-terror cooperation between the two sides?
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Mozambique: For us, a tragedy in India is a tragedy for Mozambique. As you know, we had to fight hard for our Independence. It was bloodshed, war. A few years after Independence we started being attacked by the apartheid regime, by the Rhodesian regime; and later on we had 16 years of stabilization war. So, we know quite well what suffering is, what bloodshed is all about. This is one issue.
The other one is that the ties with India are so close that whatever happens to India of good, we celebrate; whatever sad we share the sorrow. So, we strongly condemn those attacked. I repeat we strongly condemn those attacks. To the victims and their families, we convey our message of courage and of successful efforts to prevent this from happening again.
Strategically what we have to do is to continue striving in international arena for a world safer and more stable. That is what we will keep doing. We did not address specifically the measures to be taken. This is a very specific field of activity. But the Ambassadors of Mozambique worldwide have received instructions to take a strong position whenever this issue is brought to any table.
Question (Mr Royden D’Souza, NewsX): My first question is to Foreign Minister Baloi. Sir, now that the Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement has been signed, you have touched upon various areas of joint cooperation and development. Could you point out the main sectors you now hope that India will help Mozambique in?
My second question is to Mr. Anand Sharma. Sir, now Pakistan has acknowledged the nationality of Kasab but there does remain the unanswered questions of their stand on the remaining nine terrorists whose bodies are lying in India. They have not got back to us with very much on that front. I would like to know your views on that, Sir. Thank you.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Mozambique: We are in dire need of investments. So, the investment in whatever areas will be welcome. But taking into account the signs we have got from India, or our assessment of India’s potential and capabilities, the mineral area, the mining is one area, the textile industry is another one. And very recently we have put forward additional incentives to attract people to that area. We are cotton producers. We export and some one else adds value and sells it back to us. This is ridiculous, while we have friends who have the ability to add value in our own country for common benefit. We would like also to see this kind of investment in areas related to micro, small and medium enterprises because what gives sustainability to an economy is to have an activity that promotes jobs and thus contribute to the fight against poverty.
Minister of State of Ministry of External Affairs: In response to your question, it is very clear from day one where the perpetrators came from. Kasab is the only one who was caught alive, thanks to the courage and sacrifice of Inspector Tukaram Omble. But all others have been identified and named. India has given a comprehensive dossier to Pakistan, the same dossier which Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the EAM had sent to his counterparts in all the countries. Besides India, there are other countries which had specific information. It is not for nothing that the United Nations Security Council identified and named the organization responsible, proscribing, that is banning, the terror outfits, and also identifying and naming the key conspirators who plotted and assisted in carrying out that barbaric attack. Pakistan has reverted to India; they have made admissions about the culpability also about the part of the conspiracy that was hatched in Pakistan. There are ongoing investigations in India where the charge sheets will be filed. Pakistan has started its investigations. I have no doubt in my mind that once they sincerely implement what they have committed, the investigations would only confirm the painful truth about the identity, about the plotters and about the outfits.
Question (Mr Srinjoy Choudhury, Times Now): Question for Mr Sharma. Sir, just 80 days after the Mumbai attack which you spoke of, there appears to be a ceasefire between the Taliban and the Pakistani Government in the Swat area. The Taliban was held responsible for Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, if you remember. First, how does India view this? Also there appears to be a Bangladeshi angle that is coming in the 26/11. Could you tell us a little about that; and if the FIA is actually going to be involved in investigations here, as Mr. Gilani has said yesterday?
Minister of State for External Affairs: As we have said, whatever information and details we can, we will be sharing. Whatever clarifications are sought, we shall give with the very clear expectation that there will be firm, sincere and demonstrated action by the Government and the State of Pakistan to dismantle the infrastructure of the terror outfits and to neutralize those which pose a threat to peace and stability in this region and are a menace to the entire world.
Regarding the Taliban and other outfits, which propagate a cult of violence and terror. The forces which represent religious intolerance and take away the most precious of all the human rights that is the right to life, have to be confronted and defeated because there is no cause which can justify terror and violence against innocent and defenceless people, nor there is any religion which gives sanction to such barbarism. They cannot be, in our view, any differentiation when it comes to such organizations. There cannot be a brutal Taliban and a benign Taliban. Terrorism in all its manifestations, forces of intolerance wherever they are, must be defeated.
Official Spokesperson: Thank you.
The interaction now draws to a close. Thank you very much for joining us.