India, Syria to hold talks

New Delhi

11 August 2007

India will review the situation in West Asia when she hosts Syrian

Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem next week. He will arrive in New Delhi on Monday for a

three-day visit.

Both sides are likely to discuss enhancement of political, economic and cultural

relations. The last visit by a Syrian foreign minister to India was in 2002. Union Minister

of Petromeum and Natural Gas Murli Deora was in Syria in April this year. Former prime

minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former minister of external affairs Jaswant Singh have

visited Syria. New Delhi has said that India and Syria have enjoyed ancient civilisational

ties and their ties were based on similarity of perception on many international and

regional issues.

Ambassador CR Gharekhan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Special Envoy for West

Asia and the Middle East Peace Process, told this newspaper: "It is an important visit.

Syria is an important player in the region. We have excellent bilateral relations with

Syria."

He said that bilateral matters, the situation in the region and the prospects for the peace

process would figure in Mr Mouallem's talks here.

"It is good to have a briefing [from] a veteran diplomat [who was] involved in the bilateral

negotiations with Israel [over] Golan Heights, when they talked directly in Washington.

He is an expert on the peace process," Ambassador Gharekhan recalled. Making a

distinction between India's ties with Syria and the ties other countries, including the

United States, have with Syria, he added: "India is in touch with all parties. It is normal

for us to interact with friendly countries."

In a rare diplomatic encounter, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Mr

Mouallem in May this year on the margins of an international conference on Iraq, which

was held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It was the first high-level diplomatic

contact between Washington and Damascus in more than two years. The US sees Syria

as a state sponsor of terrorism. Washington recalled its ambassador two years ago after

it accused Syria of having a hand in the assassination of former Lebanese rpt Lebanese

prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Russia wants to ease visa rules, attract Indians

Moscow

25 December 2005

Russia says liberalising its visa regime will be a

major point on its agenda with India in the coming year. It hopes to settle

all outstanding issues concerning "immigration" and "readmission" and

conclude an agreement.

"We are interested in relaxing the visa rules [and] we have sent

instructions to our Russian envoy [in India] to keep this in mind," the

deputy minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Mr Alexander

Alekseyev, told this newspaper.

The move follows persistent demands by Indian businessmen and

industry alike for easing the visa regulations in order to give a much-

needed fillip to the Indo-Russian bilateral trade and also boost Indian

investments in Russia.

Concerns had also been expressed after India came to be associated with

countries of potential immigrants who made their way into Europe via

Russia. Mr Alekseyev, however, clarified that Russia should not repeat

not be blamed.

"We are in talks with the European Union [but] it is a complicated issue,"

he observed and referred to the predominant "anti-terrorist" sentiments

among certain EU members and the concerns expressed by them

particularly post-9/11.

Referring to the less than two billion-dollar bilateral trade turnover, Prof

Felix Yurlov of the Centre for Indian Studies at the Institute of Oriental

Studies in Moscow felt that India or Russia "cannot be satisfied with this

state of affairs."

Prof Yurlov said both countries should plan to touch the eight billion-

dollar mark in bilateral trade in the next three or four years. He also

suggested that "governments must encourage businessmen" to

strengthen the trade ties.

"Over 70 per cent of Russian conomy is in private hands, therefore

cooperation of private sector is important. Rules have changed," he

observed and called for raising the bilateral trade "quickly" in military and

civil spheres alike.

India and Russia, Deputy Minister Alekseyev said, "have decided to

intensify efforts to ensure further develoment and diversification of trade

and economic cooperation, and to bring it to a qualitatively new level."

Paying special attention to the promotion of investments, he said a liberal

visa regime would help to support the "comprehensive expansion of

mutually beneficial contacts between business communities of the two

countries."

"We will continue [the] political contacts at different levels and advance

the pace of exchange of opinion in all field of cooperation," he said,

referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Russia.