Visit of Colombian President to India

PRESS RELEASE
Ministry of External Affairs, External Publicity Division, New Delhi

INDIA - COLOMBIA JOINT STATEMENT
On the occasion of the State Visit of H.E. Dr. Andres Pastrana Arango, President of the Republic of Colombia, to India from 4-7 March, 2001

1. At the invitation of the President of the Republic of India, the President of the Republic of Colombia, H.E. Mr. Andres Pastrana Arango, accompanied by Mrs. Nohra Puyana de Pastrana, paid a state visit to India from 4-7 March 2001. The President of Colombia was accompanied by a high level delegation that included the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Education and Agriculture, the heads of government agencies and representatives of Colombian business and industry.

2. The President of Colombia was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 5 March. He called upon the President of India, Shri K. R. Narayanan and visited Rajghat to pay homage to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The Colombian dignitary met the Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee with whom he also held delegation level talks on matters of mutual interest related to bilateral, regional and global issues. The President of India hosted a banquet in honour of President and Mrs. Pastrana.

3. The President of Colombia received the Minister of External Affairs, Shri Jaswant Singh, the Minister for Information Tecnology, Shri Pramod Mahajan, and the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Omar Farooq Abdullah.

4. The President of Colombia and the Prime Minister of India recalled the traditionally close and cordial relations between Colombia and India and affirmed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in all areas of mutual benefit and interest, in order to seize the opportunities and meet the emerging challenges of the new Millennium.

5. President Pastrana condoled the Government and the people of India for the unprecedented tragedy caused by the earthquake in Gujarat and conveyed his best wishes for the success of reconstruction and rehabilitation work underway. The President and the Prime Minister of India expressed their solidarity with the Government and the people of Colombia and their support for President Pastrana's comprehensive vision for social, economic and political change in Colombia as well as his efforts to achieve national reconciliation through a peaceful dialogue.

6. The President of Colombia welcomed India's efforts and initiatives to foster friendly and cooperative ties with all its neighbours. He also appreciated India's desire to resume the Composite Dialogue with Pakistan and for the creation of an appropriate environment for this purpose through the cessation of cross-border terrorism.

7. Both sides affirmed their conviction that in democratic and open societies, there could be no justification whatsoever for violence and resort to terror against civilian population. Such acts must be replaced by reasoned discourse. In this context, they recognized that the global menace of terrorism, which today flourishes in conjunction with narco- trafficking as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, must be combated vigorously by the entire international community. Both sides agreed to work together for the early adoption of a Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism which has been proposed by India at the UN as well as for the success of the UN Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons for which Colombia is a candidate for Chairmanship later this year.

8. India welcomed the leading role played by Colombia in the political and economic integration processes underway in Latin America and stressed the importance it attached to relations with Colombia as a trusted friend and special partner in that region. Colombia expressed its desire to facilitate the development of institutional ties and dialogue between India and important regional entities of Latin America such as the Rio Group and the Andean Community.

9. Colombia and India reaffirmed their commitment to multilaterialism and recalled their long-standing cooperation in NAM, which both countries have successfully chaired. They called for equitable access to opportunities in a globalised world economy. India welcomed Colombia's membership of the G-15 since last year. Both sides agreed to work in concert with other G-15 developing- country partners to evolve successful models of south-south cooperation as well as for harmonization of their views in the critical areas of trade, finance, investment and technology.

10. The President of Colombia and the Prime Minister of India agreed that the reform and democratization of the UN to provide for more equitable participation and representation of developing countries reflecting current realities must be pursued on a priority basis. India welcomed Colombia's membership of the UN Security Council for the period 2001- 02. Colombia recognized India's legitimate aspirations to a permanent seat in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council as well as India's important role in regional and world affairs.

11. Both sides welcomed the significant expansion of bilateral commercial and economic relations during 2000 and recognized that there was considerable potential for the further enhancement of these relations. They expressed the hope that the Reciprocal Export Credit Agreement concluded during the visit would provide new impetus to bilateral trade, investment and joint ventures. In this context, they also reaffirmed their interest in concluding a Preferential Trade Agreement and a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement.

12. Following interactions between the Colombian President and his accompanying business delegation and leaders of Indian business and industry, promising areas for strategic partnerships, including in the areas of textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering and automative goods, IT education , software development and gems and jewellery, were identified.

13. In the spirit of south-south cooperation, the Government of India will extend technical cooperation to Columbia under its ITEC programme in the areas of human resource development, provision of IT experts and supply of a solar energy unit. The Government of Colombia welcomed this gerture of solidarity.

14. Agreements / MOUs were signed during the visit on the elimination of a visa regime for Diplomatic/Official passports, facilitation of visas for ordinary passport holders, including businessmen, and for cooperation between the respective Diplomatic/Foreign Service Academics of the two countries. It was agreed that the first meeting of the Joint Committee established under the bilateral Cultural Agreement would be convened in the second semester of 2001 in order to develop, define and conclude a Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 2001-03. The two sides expressed their interests in concluding an agreement on cooperation in the field of science and technology.

15. The President of Colombia thanked the President and the Prime Minister of the India for the warm hospitality extended to his delegation and to himself by the Government of India. He invited the President and the Prime Minister of the Republic of India to pay state visits to Colombia. The inivitations were accepted with pleasure, with dates to be decided through diplomatic channnels.

16. Both sides expressed their conviction that the state visit of the President of Colombia to India will mark the beginning of a new and dynamic chapter in relations between Colombia and India and will lead to the intensification of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields, bringing progress and prosperity to their respective peoples.

New Delhi March 5, 2001