1987 January Volume No XXXIII NO 1 1995 CONTENTS Foreign Affairs Record VOL XXXIII NO 1 1987 January CONTENTS AFRICA FUND Inaugural Address by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 1 Closing Address by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 2 Shri N. D. Tiwari's Speech 3 Shri Faleiro's Speech at Senior Officials' Meeting 6 BANGLADESH Indo-Bangladesh Talks on Inland Water Transit and Trade 8 DENMARK Banquet in Honour of the Danish Premier - Shri Rajiv Gandhi's Speech 9 EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY India and EEC Agree on Steps to Reduce Trade Deficit 11 GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC Indo-GDR Agreement on TV 14 HOME AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS Conference in Memory of Smt. Indira Gandhi - Prime Minister's Inaugural Address 14 President's Republic Day Message 17 MALAYSIA Banquet in Honour of Malaysian Premier - Shri Rajiv Gandhi's Speech 19 NORWAY India and Norway Sign Cultural Exchange Programme 21 OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN'S STATEMENTS Bhutan Foreign Minister's Visit 22 Reports of Naval Exercises Denied 22 Minister's Visit to Moscow 23 Negotiations on Afghanistan 23 Serious Concern Over Pakistan Army Movements 23 SINGAPORE India-Singapore Air Talks 24 SOVIET UNION Inauguration of Indo-Soviet Investment Centre - Shri Vengala Rao's Address 24 India and USSR Sign Protocol on Machine Building and Production 27 SWEDEN Textile Exports to Go Up by 40 Per Cent 27 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Agreement Signed to Set up U.S.-India Rupee Fund 29 VIET NAM Foreign Minister of Viet Nam Hosts Dinner in Honour of Shri Tiwari 29 Shri N. D. Tiwari's Talks in Hanoi 30 Petroleum Exploration Agreement Signed 31 Text of Joint Press Statement 32 YUGOSLAVIA Indo-Yugoslav Trade to Go Up by 50 Per Cent 35 NGLADESH DENMARK INDIA MALAYSIA NORWAY BHUTAN RUSSIA AFGHANISTAN PAKISTAN USA REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE SWEDEN VIETNAM YUGOSLAVIA Date : Jan 01, 1987 Volume No XXXIII NO 1 1995 AFRICA FUND Inaugural Address by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi The following is the text of the inaugural address by Shri Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India and Chairman of the AFRICA Fund Committee in New Delhi on Jan 24, 1987: Chairman Mugabe, Presidents, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to Delhi. This city is a symbol of the struggle against colonialism. Delhi is closely associate with the genesis of the Non-aligned Movement. You have travelled long distances for this gathering - in the cause of man's right to be human. It was just four months ago that we met at Harare under the distinguished chairmanship of Prime Minister Mugabe. Since that meeting, we have lost our dear comrade, Samora Machel, a fearless fighter who inspired his people. He lived and died battling against the sinister forces of foreign rule and racism. I offer the brave, bereaved people of Mozambique our sympathy. Samora Machel's fight is our fight. It must continue. HATEFUL PHENOMENON Africa is a continent rich in history, rich in resources, rich in cultural achievements. But its people have been subjected to terrible punishment - enslaved, exploited and humiliated. One by one its Peoples have wrested their independence. Yet, shamefully, the old order persists in the southern reaches of the continent. There the hateful phenomenon called Apartheid flaunts its brazenness. Men are born free; yet Pretoria treats the Blacks as slaves. All men are born equal; still the racists practise unabashed discrimination against all those who are not white. The only gift it holds out to them is the chain of oppression. It was almost a hundred years ago that Mahatma Gandhi, then a young man in his twenties, was pushed out of a train by Whites in South Africa. The century from Mahatma Gandhi to Nelson Mandela has seen brutality in South Africa degenerate into barbarism. But, like the Mahatma Mandela will emerge victorious. Pretoria's depredations are not confined to South Africa - the evil overflows its boundaries. PERNICIOUS SWAY OF PRETORIA Nine years ago the Security Council decided that Namibia should achieve its independence forthwith. Attempts have been made to link Namibia's freedom with irrelevant considerations. We repudiate and denounce this linkage. The pernicious sway of Pretoria over the Namibian people is a continuing affront to the conscience of the world. Several countries have been conniving with the brigand. We stand with the Namibian people in their struggle. We salute and support SWAPO. Pretoria intimidates and destabilizes the Front-line States. Brigands are financed and armed. Railways, ports, Pipelines, power plants, bridges and factories are blown up or crippled. Exorbitant tariffs are imposed. Unconscionable delays are encouraged. Neighbouring States are threatened with border closures. All this is done to keep them in a trap of dependence. -1> The Pretoria regime constitutes a clear threat to international peace. It must be removed -- and removed now. We must continue to press for comprehensive mandatory sanctions. There is already a welcome shift in the position of some countries. Deaf ears have begun to hear. Those who support Apartheid are accessories to the impending bloodshed. Let not the racists of South Africa imagine that their powerful friends can sustain them for ever. Weak though we were, we. have brought down empires. We shall compel Pretoria to submit. FUND TO FINISH APARTHEID The AFRICA Fund was established at Harare to go to the help of all those who are victims of the Apartheid regime - the people of South Africa, the people of Namibia and the people of the Front- line States. It is a Fund meant to assist those whose struggle is our struggle. It is a Fund to finish Apartheid. It is a Fund to forestall bloodshed. It is a Fund for Peace. It is a Fund for the triumph of the human spirit. I welcome you in the name of human freedom. DIA USA ZIMBABWE MOZAMBIQUE SOUTH AFRICA NAMIBIA LATVIA Date : Jan 24, 1987 Volume No XXXIII NO 1 1995 AFRICA FUND Closing Address by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi The following is the closing address by Shri Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India and Chairman of the AFRICA Fund Committee in New Delhi on Jan 25, 1987: Chairman Mugabe, Presidents, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, we thank you for having joined us in New Delhi. It is a signal honour for India to have together so many distinguished leaders from four continents spanning the world. What makes the honour so distinctive is the mission for which you have come. We belong to one human family. That part of our family which lives in Southern Africa is suffering the consequences of invasion, colonialism and Apartheid. We wish to go to the aid of our kith and kin. It is this spirit of unified action which has inspired our discussions. In a few short months, we have translated an idea into a specific plan of action. The schemes and projects we have identified will channel urgently needed additional assistance to Liberation Movements in South Africa and Namibia, and to the Front-line States. The AFRICA Fund is an earnest of our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Southern Africa. HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN DIGNITY The ending of Apartheid is not merely the restoration of human rights and human dignity to the people of South Africa but is, in fact, the restoration of human rights and human dignity to all of humanity. To temporize with Apartheid is to compromise with human decency. There is a significant corelation between the reluctance to take decisive action and vested economic interests. Many speak about human rights. Few have suffered as much as the Front-line States for standing up for human rights. They have done so with courage and out of principle. They are paying a heavy price for resisting Apartheid and aggression. The racist clique is increasing its oppression. Not from strength but from fear. Fear that Apartheid is about to crumble. Fear that its overthrow is imminent and inevitable. Fear that the whites of South Africa will learn to live in amity with the other races. Fear that South Africa will have a society based on human rights and the dignity of the individual. MOMENT TO STRIKE Now is the moment to strike - and strike hard. The superstructure of Apar- -2> theid is built on the foundations of military relationships and economic sustenance from abroad. Sanctions will undermine the foundations of Apartheid. Sanctions are the only non-violent means left to counter the violence of Apartheid. The campaign we are launching today is a campaign to sensitise world public opinion to the need for immediate action. A regime without shame will not respond to blandishment and cajoling. It will have to be brought to its knees. Without the moral and material support which Pretoria receives from a handful of countries, Apartheid would collapse, ending also the illegal occupation of Namibia and persistent destabilization of the Front-line States. The people of Southern Africa are more than willing to bear the burden of sanctions. Many of us have not only imposed sanctions ourselves but have also pledged our support to those on the firing line. BASIC TASK Our basic task is to persuade the economically and militarily powerful nations to not bolster Apartheid but throw their might on the side of human good. The powerful must agree to comprehensive, mandatory sanctions. Our appeal is as much to the leadership as it is to the people of these countries. Vast sections of public opinion are already with us. Many more would wish to see their Governments adhere to programmes of demonstrable solidarity with all those in Southern Africa who are suffering the depredations of Pretoria. The AFRICA Fund is a practical programme of action for all.