Al Ahram (International Edition), P.6 (1-2-2008)

In his meeting with newspapers' correspondents on the occasion of
the Republic Day of India, the Indian Ambassador in Cairo: We have achieved massive progress over the past 60 years

    A press conference held last Sunday at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Cairo on the occasion of India's Republic Day. The press conference was attended by: Ambassador of India to the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE) Mr. A. Gopinathan, Deputy Chief of Mission Mr. Rahul Kulshreshth and Counsellor (Eco & Com) Mr. Jaideep Mazumdar. A large number of Egyptian and foreign correspondents were also present. At the very beginning of the press conference, the Indian Ambassador said: "Welcome to all of you at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Cairo. As you know that we hold this press conference today on the occasion of the celebration of India's Republic Day. On January 26, 1950, the Indian Constitution was adopted. Many of the current generation might not be aware of some historical facts, which I would like to highlight. At the time of India's independence in 1947, several commentators and analysts said that India would not be able to survive as an independent state in view of its religious, cultural and linguistic pluralism. However, India was not only able to survive, but also achieved massive progress over the past 60 years. It is better to see this progress in the context of the challenges and foreign threats to national security, which India faced throughout its march. As we see today that India managed to overcome all these problems and challenges.

Among India's key achievements over that period is the enhancement of democratic system in governance in a country, whose population exceeds
1.1 billion and is characterized with religious, cultural and linguistic diversity.

The leaders of India imparted essential values in the Constitution, such as secularism, which means ensuring equal treatment and respect to all Indian citizens without any discrimination on the basis of religion. The Indian Constitution also guarantees basic freedoms to all citizens, which are justiciable. Among the factors that enhance the democratic system in India are: free press, independent judiciary, totally independent Election Commission and a large number of voluntary NGOs.

As for the performance of the Indian economy, it has achieved a good annual growth rate amounting to 9% during the year 2007. The Indian average annual per capita income (GDP) is US$ 4200. The Indian economy has witnessed several structural reforms, as it has shifted from an agro-based economy to a services-based economy, as the contributions of services, industry and agriculture in the GDP are 50%, 25% and 20% respectively.
The services sector covers fields like banking, insurance, hospitality industry, hotels, tourism, healthcare and media. The Indian economy has become more integrated into the world economy, since India has commenced its economic liberalization programme in 1991.

The Indo-Egyptian Relations

The Indian Ambassador said that India and Egypt enjoy deeply-rooted relations, which date back to several centuries, stressing that these ties were further reinforced since India's independence. The period of the last two or two and a half years witnessed exchange of high level visits between the two countries, the latest of which was the visit of the Indian Home Minister to Egypt. Several agreements were signed during the visit of the Indian Home Minister: Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, Agreement on Exchange of Sentenced Persons and Agreement on Abolition of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports
(on condition that their stay in the other country should not exceed 90 days). Moreover, the two countries have close cooperation and consultation at international organizations, such as the UN and other multilateral forums.

The Indian Ambassador indicated that the volume of Indian investments in Egypt ranges between US$ 700-750 million and they are expected to increase to US$ 1.5 or 2 billion by the year 2010.

With regard to tourism, he added that the number of Indian tourist arrivals to Egypt increased by 11-12%, as about 70.000 Indian tourists visited Egypt in 2007 compared to 61.000 only in 2006.

In his response to a question about the obstacles that the Indian investors face in Egypt, the Indian Ambassador said, "Any Indian investor, who comes to Egypt, studies well everything related to his business, such as the availability of land and services, such as electricity and raw materials. So, he works in accordance with the conditions and regulations of investments set by the Egyptian side for foreign investors. He submits a request and then gets the necessary licenses and approvals from different competent entities. If any of them face any problem, the Embassy is ready to see and discuss with the concerned authorities. About the impact of increasing power rate on the flow of Indian investments into the Egyptian market, the Indian Ambassador said that this decision would not affect the flow of Indian investments into Egypt, because, as I mentioned earlier, investors study all these points before submitting a request to have investments in the country.

About the opportunities of cooperation between Egypt and Indian in the field of biotechnology, the Indian Ambassador said that the field of biotechnology is one of the promising fields in today's world. Both India and Egypt have achieved remarkable progress in this domain. He indicated that there are massive potentials for bilateral cooperation in the field of biotechnology.

He confirmed that Egypt and India already have an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful applications of nuclear energy and it is being renewed periodically.

The Indian Ambassador referred to the major leaps achieved by the Indian Space Programme over the past fifty years and the various applications, which space technology offers, such as tele-education and telemedicine. He added that the e-network project proposed by former Indian President Dr. Abdul Kalam, which is under implementation, makes use of space and satellite technologies.

About the possibility of establishment of joint ventures between Egypt and India in other African countries in light of the present competition among emerging economies to establish investments in the African continent, the Indian Ambassador said that India is ready for that, if there is an opportunity. He also referred to the distinguished relations between India and all African countries. He added that India adopts Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, which is being applied in cooperation with African countries.

Subsidy

In his response to a question about governmental subsidy, the Indian Ambassador said that both Egypt and India face similar challenges in connection with supplying subsidy to the real needy. India is trying to realize this through several mechanisms, such as the establishment of markets for distributing subsidized commodities, such as rice, sugar, oil and flour. These markets are exactly like the cooperatives in Egypt. Moreover, the Indian government purchases crops, like wheat and rice from farmers at very special rates. The government also subsidizes the prices of water and electricity provided for farmers.

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