New Delhi
7 September 2005
India on Wednesday signed the framework agreement on her
participation in Galileo, the European Union's global navigation satellite system. At the
sixth EU-India Summit India, both sides also agreed on a joint action plan and adopted a
political declaration besides reaching an understanding on the establishment a security
dialogue on global and regional security issues, disarmament and nonproliferation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the signing of the framework agreement would "set
the stage for our cooperation in a vital area, which we believe will be mutually beneficial
for both sides." He was speaking at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair at Hyderabad House.
Responding to a reporter's question about Indian investment in the Galileo project, the
secretary of the Department of Space, Mr Madhavan Nair, in turn, said that "[the] amount
of the equity will be decided based on the extent of participation. We have projected the
technical strength of India in the space research areas. This dialogue will continue. At
the end of that only we will be arriving at these figures."
The joint action plan also commits both sides to work together to counter terrorism and
organised crime and cooperate in nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
disarmament. India and the EU would also collaborate to reduce terrorist access to
financing and to fight money-laundering.
The joint action plan also covers several other areas on which the two sides are
committed to work: Climate change, science and technology, research and development,
enhanced parliamentary exchanges, greater people-to-people contact and dialogue
related to migration and consular issues.
The political declaration focusses on an intensified political dialogue and cooperation for
meeting common challenges and global threats including terrorism.
The European Union, on its part, has allocated 33 million Euros for the Erasmus Mundus
scholarship programme for students from India to study in the EU. There would also be
the establishment of European Union Study Centres in India and Indian centres in the
EU. Around 133 students have already been selected this year to undergo studies in the
EU as part of this programme. They would leave later this month.
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