President of China

Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India from 20th to 23rd November 2006. The visit has given a fresh momentum to diplomatic relations and trade ties between the two Asian giants. The relationship between the two countries have thickened considerably in recent years.

Bilateral trade has soared from $1 billion a decade ago to more than $19 billion in 2005, and both countries have decided to explore massive potential in each other’s economies. During the visit, plans were unveiled to double bilateral trade from US$20 billion (euro16 billion) this year, up from almost nothing two decades ago by 2010. The Chinese President Hu said that the two countries should work together to foster their goals in the region and globally and added, efforts to resolve border disputes that remain from the 1962 Sino-Indian war need to be intensified.

The visit, the first by a Chinese President in a decade, also emphasised on seeking a resolution to political issues that divide the two countries, though no concrete steps were announced. The President met Indian President and Prime Minister and other dignitaries. After the meeting the two sides signed a series of 13 agreements on economic, trade, finance, information, energy, science, technology, agriculture and education ties.

They also agreed to have China open a consulate in the east Indian City of Calcutta, with India reciprocating in Guangzhou. 2007 was also declared a year of friendship and tourism between the two countries.

Agra and Mumbai were on the agenda of the Chinese President.


 

President of Afghanistan

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai made a five-day visit to India from 14th November 2006. The Afghan president is accompanied by seven cabinet ministers and several ministerial-level advisers and members of the Afghan National Assembly and officials, in addition to a high-level business delegation.

The Afghan President had a busy schedule in India. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and President Karzai inaugurated the Second Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan on November 18, 2006. While speaking on the occasion, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai outlined that violence in Afghanistan is the gravest threat to the stability of the wider region — and the biggest obstacle to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also expressed concern at the increasing violence in southern Afghanistan.

Later, President Karzai addressed the concluding session of the Regional Business Conference on Afghanistan, which would be jointly hosted by FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM and Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA) on November 18, 2006.

President Karzai was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the Inter-disciplinary Conference on the theme ‘Scientific Upgrading of the Ecological and Livelihood Security Systems of Arid and Semi-Arid Areas’. In addition, President Karzai was conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development by the Indian president on November 19, 2006 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Karzai had earlier visited India in February 2002 as chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration, in March 2003 as president of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan and in February 2005 and April 2006 as president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Prime Minister of Belgium

The November 2006 visit of Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt to India heralds a new era in Indo-Belgian relations. With an aim of enhancing bilateral ties in diverse fields, Prime Minister Verhofstadt paid an official visit to India in the first week of November. Indo-Belgian relations have taken a quantum leap with this first official visit to India of Prime Minister Verhofstadt. Prime Minister Verhofstadt had visited New Delhi in November 2001, but that was to participate in the second EU-India Summit when Belgium held the rotating EU presidency. Meetings of the Belgian Prime Minister in New Delhi included interactions at the highest level with Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi, and Indian cabinet ministers. Trade and investment were the main focus. Accompanied by a high level delegation including Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, Foreign Minister Karl De Gucht, and a large number of business CEOs from Belgium, Prime Minister Verhofstadt’s Indian trip included visits to—apart from the capital, New Delhi—India’s financial hub, Mumbai, and Bangalore and Chennai.

The highlights of the trip were the signing of a historic Social Security Agreement with India and a Science & Technology Agreement, which will bolster investment of Indian companies in Belgium. The two countries already share a close economic relationship owing to a formidable Indian business community that dominates 60 percent of the diamond trade in the Belgian port city of Antwerp. Prime Minister Verhofstadt also addressed investment seminars during the visit. During the Mittal-Arcelor takeover issue, Belgium was the only country that maintained a neutral and balanced stance unlike its other European counterparts. Belgium is ranked third after the UK and the US in an analysis of Indian foreign investment in the world; thus, intensifying the bilateral relationship between India and Belgium both politically and economically will be mutually beneficial, and this is exactly what Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt’s India Visit 2006 initiated.

Nepal Foreign Minister's visit

Nepal has gone through a tumultuous period of unrest, and peace has started prevailing in the country. India has always been active to the concerns of Nepal, and helped the country in restoration of peace. Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister K.P. Sharma Oli arrived India on a weeklong visit, during which he held talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

During India’s visit, the foreign Minister had a discussion with Indian leaders on a wide range of political issues including the Maoist arms management and ongoing peace talks and bilateral cooperation. This is the first visit of a Nepal Foreign Minister to India following the restoration of democracy in Nepal. It has been reported that India had already extended a one-time grant of Rs. 100 crore to Nepal’s budget, and also offered a soft credit line of $100 million to execute infrastructure development projects as prioritised by Kathmandu and waived all outstanding dues Nepal owed on account of defence purchases from India.

India and Nepal have historical ties ranging from economic to political to cultural. Nearly 70 per cent of Nepal’s manufactured exports go to India. A large part of these exports is based on Nepal’s natural resources. Similarly, nearly two-thirds of Nepal’s imports come from India. The origin of about 40 per cent of foreign investments in Nepal have originated in India.

Foreign minister of the Netherlands

Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot visited India in early November. The visit was a significant step in reviving the relationship between the two countries, which had suffered a jolt following the detention of 12 Indians in Amsterdam by the Dutch authorities. Mr. Bot held talks with External Affairs Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee on a wide range of bilateral issues, including trade and investment.

Regional issues, particularly in the context of the fight against terrorism, also figured in talks with National Security Adviser Mr. M K Narayanan.

Relations between the two countries received a jolt in august when the Dutch authorities detained 12 Indians mid-air while they were flying from Trinidad and Tobago to Mumbai. They were released after 48 hours following intervention by the Indian government. The Dutch authorities said the detentions took place as they had behaved suspiciously on the plane.

Foreign Secretary of the UK

The British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, made a six day visit to India. While in India, she met a number of dignitaries including the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and her counterpart, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. Apart from this, she delivered a speech titled, “UK and India: Partnering to Meet Global Challenges” organised by the Tata Energy Research Institute and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

Ms. Beckett stressed that the UK attached great importance to India and suggested that this can be underscored from the fact that she had chosen India to be the first country in Asia to visit as Foreign Secretary, and also the longest that she had made. The British Foreign Secretary underscored that Britain understood India’s energy demands and would help the country in development of civil nuclear energy. Not only this, Ms. Beckett reassured that Britain would continue to use influence in the European Union, in the United Nations, and in global economic institutions to push for India’s growing status to be fully reflected in the UN Security Council and other international organisations.

India and the UK are in the resurgent phase of relationship. UK is the 3rd biggest inward investor in India and the latest figures show that India has leapt to second investor in the UK. Over one million people travel between the two countries every year, and the large British Indian community is one of the most successful in the UK. The UK is India’s fourth largest trading partner. Two-way trade of goods and services between India and the UK has doubled since 1993. Top sectors for UK FDI to India include power, oil & gas, telecom and service industries. Twenty Indian companies are listed on the London Stock Exchange with a combined market capitalisation of 1.98 billion pounds. UK exports to India were $7 billion in 2005, 50% greater than in 2000. Over one million people travel between the two countries each year.

Crown Prince & Princess of Norway

His Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon and HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway visited India from October 29th to November 4th 2006. The Crown Prince and Princess Mette-Marit started their weeklong visit to India on Sunday from Mumbai, the country’s financial hub. This was the first high-level visit from Norway after Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visited India last year.

During their stay, the Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit visited Jaipur, Agra and New Delhi. While in Delhi, the royal couple had a meeting with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh apart from several Union Ministers. The Prince addressed a meeting organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). During the visit, the focus was on Indo-Norwegian economic cooperation in sectors such as the energy sector, the maritime sector, trade and services as well as tourism and culture. Both Indian and Norwegian businesses stand to benefit from closer cooperation in these areas.

The business-centric approach is clear from the composition of the crown prince’s delegation that includes 128 top businessmen and CEOs representing leading Norwegian companies in diverse sectors including oil and gas exploration, fishing industry, ship-building and hydel power generation.

The Prince’s delegation included Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry Dag Terje Andersen, Petroleum and Energy Minister Odd Roger Enoksen. They held talks with their Indian counterparts, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, on boosting energy and business ties between the two countries.

Bollywood has a strong presence in Norway thanks to the around 7,000-strong Indian diaspora in the Scandinavian nation. Tourism is another potential area when Indians with deep pocket could enjoy the fresh air and solitude. India’s bilateral trade with Norway has been steadily growing with the two-way trade estimated to be close to $305 million in 2004. This represents a trebling of trade in the last decade.

Foreign Minister of Maldives

India has always played a proactive role in its friendship with Maldives, and comes to rescue of whatever problem the country is facing. To move the relationship further in this direction, Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed, made a five day visit to India quite recently. During New Delhi sojourn, he met a number of dignitaries including the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee (now foreign minister). Shaheed, a key member of ‘New Maldives’ - a group of young reform-minded ministers and functionaries, while meeting the Indian dignitaries, discussed at length a host of bilateral and regional issues including the expansion of economic ties and enlargement of cooperation in defence and education sectors.

During the Maldivian foreign minister’s visit, India and the Maldives sought to take their ties to a higher level with the Indian Ocean Island nation seeking an enhancement of defence cooperation with New Delhi. Shaheed’s trip was also intended to clear the speculation that the Maldives’ growing relationship with Beijing is not an attempt to play the two regional superpowers off of one another. The Maldives and India have been running joint military training exercises, and the New Delhi government has offered significant funding for Maldivian military expenses.

Maldives and India have regular training between their coast guards and defence personnel. “India has contributed greatly to capacity-building in our defence sector,” Shaheed said. He, however, rebutted reports of the Chinese involvement in the defence sector in the Maldives, and dismissed a report that claimed that the Maldives had leased an island to China for military base.

Maldives has been going through a major democratic reforms vigorously for the last two three years. While having discussion with the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Shaheed also briefed Manmohan Singh on the package of political reforms, introduced by Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia’s longest serving leader, to create liberal, modern democracy in the atoll nation. The 42-year-old Shaheed, who became the country’s youngest foreign secretary at age 34, sounded upbeat about the future of liberal democracy, albeit one that is adapted to conditions suited to the atoll nation.

India and Maldives have shared long historical ties. India has helped Maldives in times of national crises. In 1988, the then Rajiv Gandhi government sent troops, at the request of Gayoom, to thwart a coup attempt in his country. India was one of the first countries to come to the rescue of the Maldives when the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami struck, killing hundreds and destroying properties worth millions. The bulk of Maldivian diplomats are trained in India.

Besides democracy building, Shaheed, an Indophile who has visited India at least 20 times, is keen that the Maldives and India should expand their already substantial cooperation in education, business and defence affairs.