java script is required for this page
Annual Reports Prior to 1999

Annual Report 1983-84

CONTENTS / Introduction
S.No. CHAPTERSPage No.(iii-xii)

I. India's Neighbours 1-10
II. South-East Asia 11-14
III. East Asia 15-17
IV. West Asia and North Africa 18-20
V. Africa (South of the Sahara) 21-22
VI. Europe 23-29
VII The Americas 30-35
VIII United Nations and International Conference 36-60
IX Foreign Economic Relations 61-65
X. Policy Planning 66
XI. Extern Publicity 67-72
XII. Cultural Relations 73-74
XIII. Protocol 75
XIV. Passport, Emigration and Consaular Services 76-78
XV. Administration and Organistation 79-81
XVI. Use of Hindi in Official Work 82-84
APPENDICES 85-112
-ii>

INTRODUCTION

 
During a year of sustained and significant diplomatic activity, India enhanced its traditional status in the Movement of Non-Aligned countries and in the world community in general. Through a series of well-conceived and well-timed initiatives flowing from her responsibilities as the Chairperson of the Non- Aligned Movement. the Prime Minister of India carried forward the quest for peace and development. India also actively promoted international cooperation for peace and development through such gatherings as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the South Asian Regional Cooperation Meeting at the Foreign Minister-level, both held in New Delhi during 1983. In a world filled with anxiety over deteriorating international relations, these initiatives earned all round appreciation. Nearer home, India made timely and unremitting efforts to help defuse the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka and to smoothen the sometimes ruffled atmosphere in the sub-continent.

The discussions and decisions of the 7th Non-Aligned Summit held in New Delhi in March 1983, have already been described in detail in the supplement to the Annual Report for 1982-83. Apart from calling for a halt to the drift towards nuclear conflict and emphasising the urgent necessity of a thorough-going restructuring of the international economic order, the Non- Aligned Summit generated important initiatives on both these fronts. The summit-level consultations brought together a representative cross- section of leaders of the developed and the developing countries in New York during the 38th UN General Assembly Session for an informal and friendly discussion of problems facing the world.

In her own address to the UN General Assembly in September 1983, the Prime Minister emphasised that the "safety of the weak" ought to be the "strength of the strong" and urged "that is why the weakest and the poorest among us, within each society and in the international community, must be shielded from the inclemencies of the international climate". She underlined the need for cooperative endeavour aimed at the re-organisation of political and economic systems at the global and state levels. She also emphasised the role of the United Nations Organisation and the need to make it more effective and more capable of facing difficulties which were not foreseen at its inception.

The Prime Minister followed up the momentum gained at the Summit-level consultations by addressing all member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement as well as other countries which participated at the New York meeting, apprising them of the
-iii>
discussions and also seeking suggestions from them, on the question of ways and means of pursuing this useful dialogue begun at the initiative of the Non-Aligned.

The year also witnessed the largest-ever meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government held, for the first time, in New Delhi. The Summit brought together 42 countries from five continents representing a cross-section of humanity from the developed as well as the developing countries, and provided them an opportunity for taking stock of the world political and economic situation. It is a matter of satisfaction that despite the divergent views and perceptions inescapable in such a large and varied grouping as the Commonwealth, the final documents issued by the Summit brought out the essential unity of approach and purpose in matters connected with peace and development. The Goa declaration on international security specifically calls for the resumption of a genuine political dialogue between the United States and the USSR as well as increased East-West contacts at other levels. This was consistent with the call given by the Prime Minister that the Commonwealth leaders urge the two powers to exert themselves with greater determination to break the stalemate in disarmament negotiations.

While India is naturally concerned over the global setback to detente and the reemergence of the cold war atmosphere, there is, understandably, more immediate concern over the threat posed to India's security by the developments in India's neighbourhood. The increasing naval and military presence of the big powers in the Indian Ocean bristles with dangers of armed conflict and poses a grave threat to the sovereignty and independence of the Indian Ocean littoral states. The failure of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean to convene the long-delayed conference on the Indian Ocean is considered a seriouso setback. India and like-minded countries continue to work towards the goal of a zone of peace in the Indian Ocean. The NAM and CHOGM fully endorsed India's views and aspirations in this matter.

The induction of weapons of a level of sophistication hitherto unknown in the Indian sub-continent also poses serious security problems for India. The type, scale and level of sophistication of the military equipment being acquired by Pakistan from the USA and other sources will upset the existing military balance in the South Asian region as a whole and between India and Pakistan in particular. Thist would also force India to go in for matching acquisitions, thereby compelling diversion of scarce resources. However, India is anxious that the process of normalisation with Pakistan, which India cherishes and for which it has, already taken several initiatives, should not be allowed to receive a setback. Accordingly, the thrust of India's policy of friendship and cooperation with Pakistan has been maintained. The meeting of the Indo-Pakistan Joint Commission in June 1983 and the subsequent meetings of the Sub-Commissions in January 1984 were concrete manifestations of these. efforts. India has also made several proposals for increasing friendly cooperation in various. fields like culture, tourism, travel, etc.
-iv>
India's overall good relations with Bangladesh in the political, economic and cultural spheres have continued over the last year. The Joint Economic Commission set up following Gen. Ershad's visit to India in October 1982 has already held two meetings, as a result of which economic and commercial ties between the two couniries are being steadily strengthened and improved. The extension of Government-to Government and commercial credits to Bangladesh is expected to lead to closer friendly involvement of India in the development programme of Bangladesh. An agreement on the sharing of the Teesta waters was signed during the year, and discussions are continuing on other outstanding issues such as the augmentation of the Ganga waters at Farakka, the vested properties in Bangladesh of Indian nationals, large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh into neigbbouring Indian states, etc.

There was deep concern in India over the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka in which Indian nationals. and Tamils of Indian origin suffereed heavy caualties and loss of property. India offered its good offices to President Jayewardene to facilitate a viable political settlement. The offer was accepted and discusgions have been held in Colombo and New Delhi with the Sri Lankan Government leaders and Tamil leaders, with a view to finding a satisfactory solution to the ethnic problem.

India has been seeking to enlarge areas of cooperation with its traditionally close and friendly neighbours Nepal and Bhutan. High-level exchanges of Visits have taken place between India and the two countries, indicative of the healthy relationship existing with these countries. India continues to contribute substantially to the development programmes of Nepal and Bhutan.


Indian efforts to improve relations with China have continued. Bilateral exchanges in various fields took place throughout the year. The Fourth Round of India-China official-level talks was held in New Delhi from 24 to 30 October, with the discussions broadly covering the boundary question, bilateral exchanges, and an exchange of views on the international situation. On the boundary question, an attempt was initiated by the two sides to evolve a mutually-agreed set of principles to serve as guidelines for future discussions.

Relations with Burma and the Maldives proceeded along the traditional lines of friendship and cooperation. The President of the Maldives paid a State visit to India during the year. A Cultural Agreement was signed and civil aviation cooperation further expanded.

India remains deeply concerned with the search for durable peace in West Asia. The continuing conflict and the presence of foreign forces in Lebanon and off its Shores have made this quest even more difficult. In November, following the tragic developments in northern Lebanon, the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement convened an urgent meeting at the Ministeriallevel of the Non-Aligned Committee on Palestine and, in pursuance of the Committee's. recommendations, despatched a Non-Aligned Ministerial Group to visit Kuwait and
-v>
Damascus. The visit contributed substantially to, the consolidation of the ceasefire between opposing groups of Palestinian freedom fighters and to their decision to solve their internal differences by peaceful means.

India's excellent relations with the Arab States of West Asia and North Africa were reflected in the State visit of President Giani Zail Singh to Bahrain and Qatar as well as the visit of the Minister of Stabe for External Affairs to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the Yemen Arab Republic. Joint Commissions between India and Iraq, Libya and Saudi Arabia held meetings during the year and an agreement was reached to establish a Joint Commission with Egypt.

India regrets that, in spite of sustained efforts for peace, the war between Iran and Iraq continues. During the 7th Non- Aligned Summit, the Prime Minister had issued an appeal to both these countries to bring an end to the tragic conflict. India continues its endeavours to bring about peace in the Gulf.

India's consistent policy of firm opposition to Apartheid, condemnation of the racist regime and its aggressive postures against the front-line States in Southern Africa, and support to the liberation movements found forceful reiteration on several occasions during the year at various international fora. India rejected in no uncertain terms the racist regime's vicious scheme of consolidating Apartheid by extending insignificant concessions to the Indian and Coloured communities while leaving the majority African community out of the picture.

India continued to strengthen its relations with the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa through a series of personal meetings at international conferences as also formal exchanges of visits. The increasing treend in economic and technical cooperation with the countries of Africa was marked by exchange of visit by Ministers and delegations in various fields as well as the grant of a large number of scholarships and admissions to African students.

The year witnesosed the further consolidation of political and economic relations between India and Western Europe. Relations with France were further strengthened particularly in the fields of energy, power, coal and electronics. Queen Elizabeth of Britain visited India at the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and the British Prime Minister availed of the opportunity provided by the Commonwealth Conferenc to discuss, with the Prime Minister of India bilateral and international issues. The West German Chancellor made a transit visit, preceded by visits by two of his Ministers. The Prime Minister of India paid official visits, to Austria, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Cyprus and Greece and made a stop-over visit to Paris.

The visit of President Zail Singh to Czechoslovakia, of the Prime Minister to Yugoslavia, of the Minister of External Affairs to the Soviet Union, Romania and Hungary, of the Minister of Commerce to the USSR, and of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to the German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia, and the visit to
-vi>

India of the Soviet First Deputy Premier, the State visit of the President of Bulgaria and the Deputy Chairman of the GDR Council of Ministers reflected the wide-ranging and abiding relations between India and the countries of Eastern Europe. Joint Commissions between India and several East European countries held meetings, and discussed ways and means of expanding and diversifying economic and trade relations.

There was sustained, improvement in relations between India and the USA notwithstanding the differences in perceptions on a number of regional and global questions. The meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the US President during the former's visit to the United Nations in September provided an opportunity for a personal exchange of views. The visit of the US Secretary of State to India in June 1983 also provided an opportunity for better mutual understanding. The IndoUS Joint Commission and its Sub-Commissions held several meetings during the year.

With Canada, the year witnessed a revival of links with the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister in November to attend the CHOGM and that of the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister earlier. There was also an increase in the tempo of India's relations with several Latin American countries, with visits being exchanged particularly with Cuba and Argentina and increased activity in the cultural and economic fields.

India took several major steps in 1983 on vital economic issues affecting all countries, rich and poor, developed and developing. The successive summit meetings of the Non-Aligned nations and of the Commonwealth countries devoted considerable attention to the economic crises faced especially by the developing countries, which have been made worse by continuing differences of approach between, the rich and the poor nations.

India also played host to the first-ever meeting of Foreign Ministers of the seven countries of South Asia. The meeting took a historic step in adopting the Declaration on South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) and launching an Integrated Programme of Action covering diverse fields such as telecommunications, meteorology, agricultur health and population, etc.

Consistent with its current Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement and in keeping with its traditionally active role in the United Nations, India tock several initiatives during the 38th Session of the UN General Assembly to highlight some of the crucial issues facing the world in relation to peace and development. The Prime Minister personally led the Indian delegation to the 38th Session of the General Assembly and addressed the Assembly on the urgency of finding a collective and speedy solution to the crises, in the international security environment as well as the international economic order. India played an active part in the UN bodies and in Group of 77 meetings dealing with such questions as Disarmament, Namibia, Apartheid, Palestine, Energy, New Information Order and Human Rights.
-vii>
India took a consistent and principled stand on the critical situations in Cyprus, Grenada, Afghanistan, West Asia, Kampuchea and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
India acceded to the Antarctica Treaty and was accorded Consultative Status under the treaty.

India was elected to various" UN Bodies and other international organisatioins" the most important being the election as, a member of the Security Council for the years 1984 and 1985. India retained its membership in the governing bodies of UNDP, ICAO, UNIDO and several other UN bodies, and distinguished Indians were elected to prominent international bodies, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, FAO Council and WMO.

The Committee appointed on the instructions of the Prime Minister to examine the working of Indian Missions abroad submitted its preliminary report in May and is expected to submit its final report shortly. The Ministry was able to shoulder the administrative requirements of the Non-Aligned Summit and the CHOGM, requiring only marginal assistance from other departments and agencies of the Government of India.

The year has thus witnessed a heightening of India's traditionally active interest and role in promoting peace and development, the two major issues of our time. It is heartening that the initiatives taken by India in this regard during the year, both in its neighbourhood and on the wider international scene, largely evoked positive responses India shall, in the coming years, continue its earnest endeavours to further improve the climate for peace and cooperation for mutual prosperity among the nations of the world.
-1>


INDIA'S NEIGHBOURS

Top

India's relations with Sri Lanka continued on an even keel in the first half of 1983. Foreign Minister Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao paid an official visit to Sri Lanka in April. The occasion was utilised to have wide-ranging discussions on all bilateral matters of interest including the residual problem of stateless persons of Indian origin. The Sri Lankan President indicated his willingness to solve this issue and the joint statement issued at the end of the visit noted that President Jayewardene had said that "he would be taking appropriate steps to resolve the outstanding matters" in this regard.

Relations came under some strain however in the wake of the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka in July-August 1983. These developments caused widespread concern in India, not only because of the human suffering involved but also because a large number of Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin in Sri Lanka were severely affected. The Prime Minister offered India's good offices to Sri Lanka in order to facilitate a political settlement of the ethnic problem. This offer was accepted both by President Jayewardene and by Mr. Amirthalingam, leader of the major Tamil party, the Tamil United Liberation Front. In pursuance of this offer, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy, Shri G. Parthasarathi, visited Sri Lanka in August and October 1983 and in January 1984. During these visits Shri Parthasarathi had detailed discussions with President Jayewardene, Government leaders, leaders of opposition parties and social organisations.

Some ideas emerged from these talks which could form the basis of a solution to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. President Jayewardene announced that he would place these ideas before an All Parties Conference. We were able to facilitate the Tamil United Liberation Front's participation in the Conference. The Conference was convened on 10 January 1984, and sat for ten days. All political parties except the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna and Nava Sama Samaj Party, which are proscribed, attended the Conference, as did various social and religious organisations. The Conference decided to set up two committees which will examine the grievances of all communities and suggest solutions to these grievances, including appropriate systems of government for people's participation at all levels, and the causes of ethnic violence and terrorism and their eradication. These two committees will sit for two weeks from 6 February onwards and report back to the Conference. The fact that the Conference has been convened is of significance, given the estrangement between the Sinhala and Tamil communities in the wake of the July riots. We wish the Sri Lankan
-2>
Government and people success in their endeavour to find a lasting solution to the ethnic problem in their country.

As a result of ethnic disturbances in Sri Lanka, India had to face the problem of the sudden influx of a large number of Sri Lankan Tamils. About 24,000 have come over to India since July 1983 and more are coming. It is not possible to assess with any degree of accuracy the number of those who might have crossed over to India from Sri Lanka clandestinely. All organisations representing Indian Tamil plantation labour in Sri Lanka expressed the view that all the Tamils of Indian origin, irrespective of their citizenship status, should be permitted to come to India since they feel increasingly insecure. This would involve upward of a million people and the Government of India made it clear that India was not in a position to accept such a large number of people The question of the remaining stateless persons of Indian origin in Sri Lanka was discussed with President Jayewardene, who assured us that he would take steps to grant Sri Lankan citizenship to such persons. In these discussions we also emphasised that a viable political settlement was essential for the restoration of a sense of security among the minorities in Sri Lanka so that they regained confidence in their future and did not come to India.

During the height of the disturbances in Sri Lanka there were about one lakh refugees staying in camps in and around Colombo. The Indian Government rushed relief material to Sri Lanka including medicines, food, clothing and utensils. The value of the relief supplies provided by the Government of India and the Indian Red Cross Society amounted to Indian Rupees 11 million. The Indian Prime Minister set up a Sri Lanka Relief Fund of Rs. 10 million to assist those affected in the July violence.

Bilateral exchanges between the two countries under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme and the TCDC activities under UNDP auspices continued. Training facilities were also provided to Sri Lankan personnel in India and the services of Indian experts were made available to Sri Lanka.

Government of India, in pursuance of the initiative taken by the Prime Minister, continued its efforts to improve relations with Pakistan during the year. A concrete manifestation of this effort was the meeting of the India-Pakistan Joint Commission held in Islamabad from 1 to 4 June 1983. The Indian delegation was led by the Minister of External Affairs. The Joint Commission consists of 4 sub-commissions dealing with
(i) Economic Matters,
(ii) Trade,
(iii) Information, Culture and Social Sciences, and
(iv) Travel, Tourism and Consular Matters.
Several proposals were made by India for improving relations in these fields, including those relating to the signing of a Tourism Protocol, a Cultural Agreement,
-3>
relaxation of visa formalities, and increase of commercial exchanges on a nondiscriminatory basis. Suggestions were made for improvements in telecommunication facilities, reduced postal rates, and increased cooperation in areas such as health, family welfare, science and technology, education, archaeology, social sciences, agriculture, and the performing arts. A few proposals were accepted by the Pakistani side and several other suggestions are still under their consideration.

While India continued to seek normalisation and friendship within the framework of the Simla Agreement, note was taken of various developments and the orchestrated campaign of vilification against India was viewed as a negative development which was not conducive to improvement of relations. This could adversely affect the atmosphere required for further discussions in regard to larger aspects of our relations. The Government of India also remain concerned with the increased pace of the acquisition of sophisticated weaponry by Pakistan and the danger of war that such a development entailed. The well-being of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who was kept under detention, was a matter of anxiety to the people of India. This concern, as expressed in the Parliament and outside, was conveyed to the Pakistan authorities.

There was no qualitative change in the Afghan situation. The conflict of attrition continued with increased financial and military assistance to opposition groups. The Government of India continued to remain concerned about the negative impace of the situation in Afghanistan on peace and stability in the region.
Government of India's policy towards Afghanistan continued to reflect India's abiding interest in the independence, sovereignty, non-alignment, stability and security of Afghanistan and, above all, the well-being of its people.

India remained committed to resolution of the problems related to Afghanistan through a negotiated political settlement, and supported the UN Secretary General's efforts aimed at bringing about a comprehensive settlement of issues affecting the Afghan situation. It was noted that discussions held through the intermediary of the UN Secretary General's personal representative during 1983 made limited progress, and it was hoped that further progress towards a negotiated political solution would be possible before long. India continued to be anxious to see an early return of normalcy to Afghanistan which would enable the Afghan people to live in peace, free from external interference and intervention.

In the bilateral field, there was some increase in economic cooperation between India and Afghanistan in such areas as public health and small scale industries. A mid-term review meeting of the Indo-Afghan Joint Commission was held in Kabul in October 1983.
-4>
In keeping with Government's policy of maintaining and further developing close relations with our immediate neighbours, the friendly relations that have existed between India and Bangladesh have been further improved during the period under review.

The Indo-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission, set up in October 1982, has helped nurture the growth of economic and commercial ties between the two countries. The second meeting of the JEC, held in Dhaka from 19 to 21 August 1983 at the Ministerial level, provided further impetus to the growing economic relations between the two countries. It also provided an opportunity to the Minister of External Affairs, Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, to continue the ongoing bilateral dialogue between the two Governments on matters of mutual interest.

Earlier in 1983, the first meeting of the Standing Committee of the JEC was held in Dhaka on 14 and 15 June 1983 at the level of Secretaries, during which a Government-to-Government credit of Rs. 20 crores was extended to Bangladesh by India and an Agreement on Cooperation between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council was signed. Later during the year, in August and September 1983, the Export and Import Bank of India concluded agreements with Bangladesh banks, extending to them commercial credit of Rs. 40 crores.

While there has been a steady and continuous improvement in our bilateral relations with Bangladesh, particularly in the area of economic cooperation, certain long-pending problems have persisted, such as the augmentation of Ganga waters at Farakka, the large-scale infiltration of migrants from Bangladesh to the contiguous Indian states and the problem of settlement of claim of Indian nationals whose properties were taken over by the Government of erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, as vested property.

It is recognised by both India and Bangladesh that without the augmentation of Ganga waters, there will not be enough water to share between the two countries during the dry season. Efforts to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to this problem have continued, even though the two sides have not been able to begin the pre-feasibility study of augmentation possibilities. As regards the sharing of Teesta waters, the two countries signed an agreement in Dhaka on 20 July 1983 on a sharing formula under which India will have 39 per cent of the waters and Bangladesh 36 per cent, with 25 per cent remaining unallocated pending scientific studies which will be jointly carried out and completed at the end of 1985. As regards vested properties of Indian nationals, we have conveyed to the Bangladesh Government that such properties be released to the rightful owners and that the Bangladesh Government should desist from taking over, disposing or selling these properties without settling the question of compensation.

Further progress has been made in the demarcation of the over 4000 kilometerslong Indo-Bangladesh boundary and despite the legal difficulties that have arisen,
-5>
India has continued to make effort to implement the terms of the lease-in-perpetuity of the Tin Bigha area to provide Bangladesh overland transit facilities through a corridor across Indian territory, enabling it to have access to its enclaves.

Any increase in economic relations as well as commercial exchanges between the two countries is dependent upon the availability of better transport and communication facilities. A new Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade was concluded between the two countries on 8 November 1983. The number of telephone circuits available between Dhaka and New Delhi, and Bombay and Calcutta, have been doubled during the last year.

Over 80 Bangladesh scholars have availed of scholarships offered by India during 1983-84 for pursuing higher studies in Indian universities and technical institutes. Training facilities have also been made available to Bangladesh personnel, including two batches of railway officials, in several technical and scientific institutions. Some Indian experts have also visited Bangladesh during the year to provide consultancy in the areas of small-scale and cottage industries, sugar technology, the application of vegetable dyes, curriculum development at the school level, maintenance of zoological gardens, etc.

The relations between India and Bhutan have been marked by complete understanding not only in respect of bilateral relations but also international issues. His Majesty the King of Bhutan attended the Non-Aligned Summit and took the opportunity of his presence in New Delhi to discuss bilateral and international relations also with Indian leaders at the highest level. The Foreign Minister of Bhutan, Lyonpo Dawa Tsering, besides participating in the New Delhi meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the SARC held in August 1983, also visited New Delhi in September 1983 for bilateral discussions.


The most important event during the year under review in relations between India and Bhutan was the signing of the Indo- Bhutan Trade Agreement, which would ensure continuity of free trade between the two countries as guaranteed under the Indo- Bhutan Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1949. India has assured Bhutan that it would be able to absorb all the surpluses of Bhutan's agricultural and industrial production.

The Rs. 200 crores 336-MW Chukha Hydel Project is slated for inauguration by May 1985. India is committed to the purchase of all the power that is surplus to the needs of Bhutan. The inauguration of this project in 1985 would clear the way for the more ambitious second stage of the project downstream which would have the capacity to generate 1000 MW of power. In the field of industries, Bhutan is anxious to promote only those industries which are based on local raw materials and it was in
-6>
this context that the Bhutanese Government approached the Government of India for help in setting up its second cement plant--the 1500 tonne per-day Nanglam Cement plant in south- eastern Bhutan.

Bhutan is presently in its Fifth Development Plan (1981--87) which has an outlay of Rs. 433 crores, out of which India has agreed to under-write to the extent of Rs. 134 crores. During the year under review a sum of Rs. 24.77 crores was released to Bhutan as plan subsidy.

India's contribution to Bhutan's economic development outside the scope of the Plan is also considerable. A number of Government of India agencies like the Central Water Commission, Geological Survey of India, Posts and Telegraphs Department, Indian Airlines, etc., are helping Bhutan to open up and exploit its natural resources and to train Bhutanese personnel in various technical skills.

The start of the construction of the Bhutanese Monastic Complex at Bodh Gaya, for which Government of India have announced a grant of Rs. 10 lakhs, is a symbol of the close religious and cultural ties between the two countries. The presence of His Holiness J. Khempo and the Governor of Bihar underlined this close relationship.

The visit by the Prime Minister of Nepal, Shri Surya Bahadur Thapa, to New Delhi in February 1983 gave an opportunity for an exchange of views on bilateral relations between the Prime Ministers of the two countries. As Prime Minister of Nepal, this was Shri Surya Bahadur Thapa's first official visit abroad and was therefore a symbolic gesture to India. As a result of these discussions, it was agreed that to oversee the entire gamut of Indo-Nepal economic relations, which were intensive and embraced almost all fields of activity, a Joint Commission should be set up. It was also agreed that there should be sub-commissions dealing with various aspects of our bilateral economic cooperation. Modalities for setting up the Joint Commission are under discussion between the two Governments. It was also agreed that in order to help the accelerated industrial development of Nepal, joint-venture industrial projects should be expedited by the two countries, with special emphasis on the 1200 tonnes per- day cement plant to be set up near Udaypur in Nepal at a total cost of approximately Rs. 100 crores.

The Non-Aligned Summit in March 1983 saw His Majesty the King of Nepal in New Delhi leading his country's delegation and participating in the deliberations of the Summit.

A few stray incidents towards the latter part of 1983, like the arrest of some Nepalese in Darjeeling District for violation of the regulations governing the entry into the restricted/protected areas, deportation of some Indians from Kathmandu Valley
-7>
into India, the clash between a gang of criminals and the Bihar police on the Indo-Nepal border and the consequent dust that this raised in Nepal, the publication of the Harka Bahadur Gurung Report on migration, and the Press campaign accompanying these developments, gave the impression of a set-back to Indo-Nepal relations, but the resilience of the relationship, sanctified by the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950, asserted itself and helped remove the mists of misunderstanding.

During the year the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Trade was renewed for another period of five years. Similarly the Agreement on the control of Unauthorised Trade was also renewed till March 1988. Another Agreement signed between the two countries during the year was that relating to Telecommunications.

To help Nepal tide over its problem of food shortages, a commodity loan of 25,000 tonnes of wheat was extended to that country.

Water flowing into Indo-Nepal rivers constitutes the most important link between the two countries. Therefore, harnessing of these waters for the mutual benefit of our peoples is one of the major concerns of the Governments of the two countries. For a coordinated approach to this question frequent discussions are held at higher levels. It was in this context that the highlevel meeting of the officials of the two countries at Secretary level was held in April 1983. This meeting, while discussing a large number of small and medium sized water projects, also specifically discussed three major water projects, viz. the Karnali and Rapti multi-purpose projects and the Panchwar Hydro- electric Project. While the first two projects would be located in Nepalese territory, the Pancheshwar Project would be on the Indo-Nepal border, on the river Sharda.

In the field of economic cooperation, which is an on-going process, a number of projects which were earlier under construction have been completed and many are still in hand. The Devighat Hydro-electric Project has been completed one and a half years ahead of schedule. The co-axial Cable Link between Birganj in Nepal and Raxaul in India as well as the Hanuman Nagar Rajbiraj road were completed and inaugurated during the year under review. The 300 km central sector of the Mahendra Raj Marg is fast nearing completion. A sports complex at Pokhra is also expected to be completed shortly. A scheme for control of goitre by distribution of iodised salt is continuing. Construction of an Out-Patient Department Wing at the Bir Hospital in Kathmandu has started and the total cost of this project, which includes building and equipment, including equipment for an operation theatre, is expected to be Rs. 6 crores. Feasibility studies for the industrial estate at Rajbiraj and the expansion of the Butwal industrial estate have been completed and construction work would start in the coming year. A report on accelerated development of horticulture in Nepal has been prepared by Indian experts. Another team of Indian experts has 2 EA/83--3.
-8>
prepared a scheme for development of animal husbandry in the country. Both these schemes will be implemented in the coming year.

Traditionally friendly bilateral relations with Burma continued at an even pace during the year under review. Indigenous medicines from India, valued at Rs. 140,000 were presented to the Burmese Ministry of Health on 4 May 1983. A Sanskrit course has been newly organized in Burma and diplomas in that language were distributed to successful candidates by the organizers of the course. A contract was signed for the import of 1.5 lakh tons of rice from Burma. This large and significant purchase introduces a new dimension to India's trade relationship with Burma and may enhance the over-all scope and range of commercial cooperation.

India continued to have close political, economic and cultural relations with the Maldives. The close relationship was characterised by the exchange of several important visits between the two countries. The Maldives and India worked in close cooperation under the South Asia Regional Cooperation Programme.

The Maldivian President, Mr. M. A. Gayoom, accompanied by Madam Gayoom and the Foreign Minister, paid a six-day State visit to India in September 1983. The President held useful discussions with our leaders. The Presidential delegation also visited Aligarh, Bangalore, Cochin and Madras. At Aligarh, President Gayoom was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree. A Cultural Agreement was also signed between the two countries, which provides for cultural exchanges in the fields of art, education, etc. The Minister of Planning, Shri S. B. Chavan, visited the Maldives in November 1983 to attend the oath-taking ceremony of President Gayoom for the second term of office.

Assistance to the Maldives under India Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) was continued during the period under review. Under the ITEC Programme, two Maldivian Foreign Service officials were given training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. Five Maldivian Civil Aviation officials were trained at the Civil Aviation Training College, Allahabad. Further, medicines worth Rs. 3.30 lakhs were sent to the Maldives to fight the diarrhoea epidemic which broke out in the Maldives during the summer. Two firefighting engines worth Rs. 28 lakhs were presented to the Maldives under this programme. We had also given equipment worth Rs. 25,000 for the use of handicapped persons in the Maldives under the same programme. At present 8 Indian ITEC experts are also working in the Maldives.

The Indian Airlines commenced a service between Male and the Gan Island of the Maldives on 6 November 1983. An agreement to this effect was signed between
-9>
Indian Airlines and Maldivian International Airlines (MIA) on 12 October 1983. Indian Airlines already operates a service between Trivandrum and Male.

India's friendly and cordial relations with Iran continued to develop on the basis of historical ties, non-alignment and potential for greater mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and technical fields. Towards this and many visits at various levels were exchanged. The Minister of External Affairs, Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, visited Iran from 18 to 22 July 1983. He was accompanied by a number of senior officials. The talks covered a wide range of subject of mutual interest particularly those concerning bilateral matters. A Joint Commission for economic, trade, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation was set up and the first meeting was held in Tehran.

Symptoms of the deteriorating international situation are most manifest in the continuing escalation of Great Power military presence in the Indian Ocean. The facilities available at the Anglo-American base in Diego Garcia are being expanded. This base is expected to facilitate deployment of US Ground Forces in the Gulf as well as the African and the Asian mainland, as also the deployment of B-52 heavy bombers. The United States has created a new Central Command with operational responsibility for the western Indian Ocean and Gulf region, while other non-littoral powers have continued to maintain a steady and constant presence in the Indian Ocean at the same level as in the recent past. Military facilities in the littoral states, available for the use of Great Powers, have been considerably improved.

The existence of foreign bases and the military presence of non-littoral states in the Indian Ocean has been a matter of grave concern for India. Great Power military presence has a naturally deleterious impact on the security environment of the countries of the region as it introduces new tensions and conflicts and accentuates existing ones, thereby threatening peace and stability in our neighbourhood and in the world in general.

India has continued to strive for the removal of all foreign military presence from the Indian Ocean. As a first step, it would be useful if the Great Powers would discuss a mutual reduction of their military and naval presence in the area. It is our hope that littoral states of the region, for their own security, would maintain an independent and non-aligned policy and desist from the temptations of aligning themselves militarily with Great Powers as such a move is bound to invite a countervailing reaction in the context of Great Power conflicts.
-10>

India has also been actively engaged together with other littoral and non-aligned states in attempts to secure early implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace. It is a matter of regret that the proposed Conference on the subject, which was originally scheduled to be held in 1981, has been repeatedly postponed. It is hoped that this Conference will now be held in the first half of 1984. India has also expressed support for the Mauritian claim of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, and has called for an early return of the territory to Mauritius.
-11>


SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Top

During the period under review, India maintained the traditionally friendly bilateral relations with the countries in South-East Asia. This was characterised by friendly mutual visits and exchanges of views as well as greater economic and technical cooperation with the countries of the region. India's Chairmanship of the NAM and hosting of the CHOGM naturally led to increased interest in India on the part of South-East Asian countries.

As before, there was perceptible and steady growth in economic and technical relations with practically every country in the region. Trade talks with Malaysia, philippines and Australia helped in identifying further areas of cooperation. There were moves towards a science protocol with Thailand, scheduled to be concluded shortly. The 14th round of Indo-Australian Bilateral Talks in Canberra covered a wide spectrum of subjects. The first- ever major exhibition of Indian engineering goods in Australia received excellent response. India participated in the Trade Fair of Jakarta and Book Fair and other fairs and seminars in the south-East Asian region, registering a considerable number of trade enquiries and enhanced interest in our technology. As usual, a large number of Indian experts continued to function in South-East Asia, while training in various special disciplines was accorded to several persons from the South-East Asian countries in India. All these demonstrated the steadily growing bilateral relations between India and the South-East Asian countries.

India held frank and friendly exchange of views at all levels with the countries of the region, in both the bilateral and multi-lateral fora, notably during the NAM and the CHOGM. These talks were particularly significant in view of the fact that the Kampuchean issue continued to dominate the South-East Asian Political scene and the national policies of some South-East Asian countries were at variance. There was better appreciation of India's national policy at such talks as also at bilateral official discussions in the ASEAN capitals. While conceding that differences in perception existed, the Indian side invariably emphasised that these should not come in the way of friendly bilateral relations. On Kampuchea itself, while accepting the vacant seat formula of Havana in the interest of consensus at the New Delhi NAM Summit, India's national policy of No-Contact with the so-called CGDK, Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (dominated by the genocidal Pol Pot regime),
-12>
and diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of Kampuchea under Heng Samrin remained constant. The Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea seemed to consolidate itself further in Kampuchea during the year under review. Regarding solution of the Kampuchean problem, India is firmly of the view that, as per the formulations in the resolutions at New Delhi NAM Summit, there should be negotiations among the countries in the region towards a comprehensive political settlement.

India's relations with the three Indo-China countries of Kampuchea, Laos and Vietnam witnessed considerable growth during the year, especially in economic and technical areas.

The Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Pham Van Dong, led a 42- member delegation to the 7th NAM Summit which included the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Mr. Co Thach, and the Senior Vice Foreign Minister. A four-member delegation from Vietnam led by their Vice Minister of Foreign Trade visited India in October 1983, when potential areas of further cooperation between the two countries were identified. Another important visit from Vietnam- was that of their Vice Minister of Water Resources in February 1983.

Secretary (East) and the Chief of Army Staff visited Vietnam. Smt. Aruna Asaf Ali, President of the Federation of Indian Women, visited Kampuchea, Laos and Vietnam. A goodwill delegation from the India Centre for Studies on Indo-China paid visits to Vietnam and Kampuchea.

Steps are being contemplated to assist Kampuchea in the fields of agriculture, industry and public health. Similar efforts are being made to step up cooperation with Laos.

A cotton expert and a rubber expert were deputed to Vietnam to assess the possibility of cooperation in these fields. The rubber expert also visited Kampuchea. Indian experts are helping the Vietnamese authorities at a Rice Research Centre and a Buffalo Breeding Centre. Several Vietnamese, Kampuchean and Laotian students are receiving training in India. A contract has been concluded for the supply of Indian locomotives to Vietnam for the first time.

In the cultural field, a dance troupe led by Smt. Sonal Man Singh visited Kampuchea, Laos and Vietnam.
-13>
India's relations with Indonesia were characterized by considerably increased common endeavours towards strengthening the existing cordial relations in various fields, especially in economic and technical fields. India participated in the Jakarta Trade Fair with a wide range of machine tools, diesel engines, tractors and textiles. An Agreement was signed in Jakarta by the HMT and the Indonesian Director General for Small Scale Industries for setting up a tool-room-cum-industrial training centre in Surabaya. The value of HMT's supply is estimated at about Rs. 5 crores.

Foreign Minister Mochtar Kusumatmadja's presence at the NAM Summit was also utilized for exchange of views on bilateral, regional and international issues.

Annual bilateral talks between India and Malaysia were held from 7 to 8 February 1983. The Malaysian side was led by Secretary-General Y. B. Tan Sri Datuk Zakaria Bin Haj Mohamed Ali and the Indian side by Secretary (East). Bilateral, regional and international issues were discussed in a friendly and frank manner.

Efforts were made to further strengthen India's friendly relations with the Philippines. The first meeting of the Indo- Philippines Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held in Manila from 21 to 23 June 1983. The Indian delegation was led by Deputy Minister, Ministry of Commerce, Shri P. A. Sangma. A protocol was signed between the two countries with a view to enlarging the scope of bilateral trade.

Secretary (East), Shri K. S. Bajpai, visited Manila from 26 to 29 May 1983 and held discussions with the Foreign Minister, various Deputy Ministers and senior officials of the Philippines.

Shri K. S. Bajpai visited Singapore from 11 to 12 January 1983 and had detailed exchange of views with senior officials of the Singapore Foreign Office and the Foreign Minister. Economic and trade relations registered steady growth during the period under review.

India's relations with Thailand continued to be firm and friendly. At the invitation of the Thai Government Secretary (East), Shri K. S. Bajpai, visited Bangkok from 13 to 15 September 1983 and held wide-ranging talks on bilateral relations and regional
-14>
and international issues with senior Thai leaders. A science protocol is expected to be signed with Thailand shortly.

The 14th round of Indo-Australian bilateral talks was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere in Canberra in May 1983. The Indian delegation was led by Secretary (East), Shri K. S. Bajpai.

A three-day symposium entitled 'India Today', coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti, was held in Australia. The first ever major exhibition of Indian engineering goods was held in Australia from 6 to 10 June 1983.

Brunei became fully independent at the turn of the year at mid-night on 31 December 1983. India has felicitated Brunei on its independence and looks forward to friendly relation with that newly-independent country.

India sent medicines worth Rs. 5 lakhs to Fiji for the benefit of the victims of a devastating cyclone.
-15>


EAST ASIA

Top

The year witnessed efforts to further improve relations with China and achieve progress on the boundary question. The Third Round of official-level talks was held in Beijing from 29 January to 2 February 1983 followed by the Fourth Round in New Delhi from 24 to 30 October 1983.

In keeping with the desire of both sides to continue to develop and normalise bilateral relations, detailed discussions took place during the Fourth Round of talks on exchanges in fields like culture, science and technology and trade during 1984. Appreciable progress was made in this direction. On the boundary question, the early and just settlement of which remains the final test of genuine normalisation of India-China relations, extensive discussions took place, with some common ground covered by way of working out common guidelines for future discussions. However, identity of views could not be established on certain aspects so that it was finally decided to pick up the threads once again at the next round of talks which should now be held in Beijing some time in 1984.

In the cultural field, the highlights of the year were the visit to China by the renowned Indian Sitar Maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar in August/ September 1983 and performances by the "Beijing Opera" in some Indian cities in December 1983.

Efforts continued to consolidate and expand existing cordial relations between India and Japan. The Japanese Prime Minister was among the world leaders to whom our Prime Minister wrote about the conclusions of the 7th NAM Summit in New Delhi.

Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee paid a visit to Japan from 18 to 20 May 1983 and called on the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, the Minister for Trade and Industry, and the Minister of Economic Planning of Japan. He conveyed our Prime Minister's appreciation to Prime Minister Nakasone for taking up some of the issues faced by developing countries at the Williamsburg Summit. Earlier, Prime Minister Nakasone had paid high tribute to Prime Minister Mrs. Gandhi for her leadership of the NAM Conference.
-16>

The meeting of the India-Japan Study Committee was held in Tokyo in November. Increased cooperation in the field of science and technology between the two countries was the principal recommendation of the meeting.

Indo-Japanese trade talks were held in New Delhi from 16 to 17 December 1983. The Japanese delegation was led by the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nakajima, while the Indian side was headed by the Commerce Secretary. Both sides agreed to try to rectify the trade imbalance and also identify new areas of cooperation between the two countries. The symbol of Indo- Japanese industrial collaboration, the Suzuki-Maruti venture, was commissioned on 14 December 1983.

The Minister for External Affairs paid a visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) from 7 to 10 May 1983, returning a visit by the ROK Foreign Minister, Bum Suk Lee, to Delhi in January 1983. During these visits, the expanding bilateral relations, especially in the economic and trade fields, were reviewed.

The President of the Republic of Korea was scheduled to visit India from 11 to 14 October 1983. However, on account of the tragic bomb explosion in Rangoon at the Martyrs' Mausoleum on 9 October, where President Chun Doo Hwan was to place a wreath, the visit was postponed indefinitely. The bomb explosion resulted in the loss of the lives of 17 Koreans, including 4 Cabinet Ministers.

Our Prime Minister expressed her shock at this outrageous violence which resulted in the loss of so many innocent lives. The view was also expressed that such acts deserved to be condemned.

India participated in the 70th IPU Conference in Seoul from 2 to 13 October 1983. The Indian delegation was led by the Lok Sabha Speaker, Shri Balram Jakkar, who had visited Seoul earlier also in May as the Head of a Parliamentary delegation.

The Special Envoy of President Chun Doo Hwan, Dr. Tae Sup Lee, paid a visit to India from 6 to 9 December 1983. He called on the President, the Prime Minister, the Vice President, the Speaker and the Foreign Minister.

In the cultural field an exhibition of South Korean ceramics was organised in New Delhi in cooperation with the ICCR. A dance troupe from the ROK also visited India on the eve of the scheduled visit of President Chun Doo Hwan in October 1983.

The delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the 7th Non-Aligned Summit in New Delhi was headed by Vice President Pak Song Chol. India was represented at the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of the Democratic
-17>
People's Republic of Korea in Pyongyang on 9 September by Shri Shyam Lal Yadav, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, the Minister of State for Education and Culture, Smt. Sheila Kaul, paid a visit to the DPRK in the second half of September to participate in the First Conference of the Education Ministers of the Non-Aligned Countries. Apart from these visits a number of Members of Parliament were invited to the DPRK by various organisations.

Indo-DPRK trade talks were held in New Delhi from 22 to 26 July 1983. The DPRK delegation to these talks was headed by Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Mr. Kim Song Log.

The Health Minister, Shri B. Shankaranand, paid a visit to Mongolia in August/ September 1983 and signed the programme for the implementation of the protocol between the two countries in the field of health and family welfare.

Several rounds of Sino-British talks on the future of Hong Kong took place during 1983 but no decision was made known. This uncertainty about the future had some adverse effect on the economy of Hong Kong.

For the first time, Hong Kong participated in the India International Trade Fair in New Delhi in November 1983. Despite the uncertainty about the future of Hong Kong, bilateral trade between India and Hong Kong continued to increase. In the first six months of 1983 India exported goods worth HK $ 577.78 million to Hong Kong as against Hong Kong's total export to India, including re-exports, of HK $ 264.91 million.

On his way to the ROK, the Minister for External Affairs paid a transit visit to Hong Kong in May 1983.
India participated in the Hong Kong Trade fair from 21 to 26 November 1983.
India also took part in the Hong Kong International Hockey Championships in December 1983.
-18>


WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA

Top

To underline India's close relationship with the Arab world, President Giani Zail Singh visited Bahrain and Qatar in December 1983. During the visit discussions were held on strengthening India's relations with these two countries in all spheres.

The situation in West Asia during the period under review continued to remain one of great concern to Government of India. The presence of Israeli forces in Lebanon since their invasion of June 1982, their incessant acts of provocation, increased settlement activities in the West Bank, and policies leading to a mass exodus of Palestinians, the rapid accumulation of arms in the area, the presence of an increasing number of foreign troops in Lebanon and foreign warships along Lebanese shores, were the substantial factors threatening peace and security in West Asia.

At the 7th Non-Aligned Summit held in New Delhi in March 1983, a Committee was set up at Heads of State Government level consisting of Algeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, India (Chairman), PLO, Senegal, Yugoslavia and Zambia, to cooperate with the 7-member Arab Committee to support the rights of the Arab Palestinian people. The Committee was asked to work with the various forces influential in the Middle East conflict for the achievement of a just, durable and comprehensive peace in the Middle East which would enable the Palestinian people to exercise their rights to freedom and sovereignty in their independent homeland.

In May-June 1983, in view of the deteriorating situation in West Asia, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs was deputed by the Prime Minister, in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement, to visit several Arab countries for consultations in the context of the mandate given by the Non-Aligned Summit to the Non-Aligned Committee on Palestine.

The first meeting of the Non-Aligned Committee was held in New Delhi at official level on 30-31 October 1983. In November 1983, in view of the eruption of armed hostilities amongst Palestinian freedom fighters in Northern Lebanon, and
-19>
messages of concern received from other non-aligned countries in this regard, the Prime Minister convened an urgent meeting of the Committee on Palestine at ministerial level which met in New Delhi on 18 and 19 November 1983. In pursuance of the Committee's recommendations, a ministerial group led by Foreign Minister Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, and comprising the Foreign Ministers of Cuba and Yugoslavia and the Permanent Representative of Senegal to the United Nations, visited Kuwait and Damascus.

In Kuwait, the ministerial group availed of the opportunity to have an extensive exchange of views with the Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H. E. Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al- Jabar. In Damascus, the ministerial group met the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Syria, H. E. Mr. Abdul Haleem Khaddam, the Speaker of the Palestine National Council, Mr. Khalid Al-Fahoum, and Mr. Abdul Muhsen Abu Maizer, member and official spokesman of the Executive Committee of PLO and former Lebanese Prime Minister Rashid Karame. The ministerial group also met leaders from the opposing side in the Fatah calling itself the "Upheaval Movement", Abu Saleh, Abu Musa, Abu Akbar, Qadri and others in the presence of Mr. Fahoum, Mr. Abu Maizer, and Mr. Muhammed Khalifa and Mr. Talal Naji, members of the Executive Committee of the PLO.

As a result of these meetings the ministerial group secured a commitment by the opposing side to protect and safeguard the ceasefire without any time limit, on the understanding that the ceasefire would be respected by both sides. The group was also given an assurance by the opposing side that they would take all necessary steps, within the Palestinian framework, to solve by peaceful means all their internal differences. The above assurances were given by the opposing side in deference to the request of the Non-Aligned ministerial group that further bloodshed and danger to the city of Tripoli should be avoided.

India remained concerned with the continuing conflict between two members of the Non-Aligned Movement, Iran and Iraq. During the 7th Non-Aligned Summit, Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, in her capacity as the Chairperson, made an appeal to the two countries on behalf of the entire Non-Aligned community to bring hostilities to an immediate end and to come to an honourable, just and enduring peace through negotiations and peaceful means. India has continued to remain in touch with both Iran and Iraq and other members of the Non-Aligned Movement to see what could be done to bring an end to the war.

The Minister of State for External Affairs visited several Gulf countries-Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the Yemen Arab Republic-to look into the welfare of the large number of Indians working in these countries.
-20>
The Foreign Minister of the Yemen Arab Republic, H. E. Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Al-Asbahi, visited India in December 1983. The Indo-YAR Cultural Agreement was signed. India agreed to increase her technical assistance to that country.

In November 1983, Bahrain's Labour Minister, H. E. Shaikh Khalifa bin Sulman bin Mohamed Al-Khalifa, visited India.

Bilateral relations were strengthened with Iraq, Libya and Saudi Arabia through the meetings of the 8th Session of the Indo- Iraqi Joint Commission, the 4th Session of the Indo-Libyan Joint Commission, and the 1st Session of the Indo-Saudi Joint Commission respectively. In September 1983, an agreement was signed to establish the Indo-Egyptian Joint Commission.
-21>


AFRICA (SOUTH OF THE SAHARA)

Top

India continued to strengthen its relations with countries of the African region and paid particular attention to the escalating political and military situation in Southern Africa arising out of oppression, brutality and aggressive actions of the racist regime of South Africa. On several occasions India's consistent policy of firm opposition to apartheid, condemnation of the racist regime, and support to Liberation Movements found forceful reiteration in the UN and other international fora. As the current Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement and in line with our own position, our leadership expressed unequivocal support to the oppressed and the exploited people of South Africa and Namibia, and called upon the international community to take effective action to force the racist regime to grant independence to Namibia without any further delay in full consonance with the various UN resolutions on the subject. India further riterated the need to take effective steps against the racist regime for its continuing defiance of world opinion against apartheid and racial discrimination, and its constant attempts to destabilise the frontline States and subject them to repeated armed aggression. We rejected in no uncertain terms the Pretoria regime's fraudulent means of consolidating apartheid by the introduction of so-called constitutional reforms in South Africa, which are intended to constitutionalise the already institutionalised system of apartheid.

The hallmark of our policy towards Africa during 1983 was the attainment of closer understanding through personal meetings between our leaders and those of Africa. Opportunities for wide- ranging exchange of views at the highest political level were first provided by the 7th Non-Aligned Summit in March 1983 and later by the Commonwealth Summit in November 1983, both of which were held in New Delhi. A large number of Heads of State or Government from Africa actively participated in the two Summits and had exchange of views with our leaders on matters of mutual interest, thus giving tremendous boost to our relations with the African states.

Our bilateral relations continued to grow and we received the former President of Nigeria, Mr. Shehu Shagari, as the Chief Guest for the Republic Day celebrations
-22>
in 1983. During this visit a trade agreement and a protocol on collaboration between the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute and the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research were signed. The Instruments of Ratification of the Cultural Agreement, which was signed in Lagos in September 1982, were also exchanged.

The Prime Minister of Mauritius, H. E. Mr. Anerood Jugnauth, paid an official visit to India in February 1983. During the visit of the Mauritian Prime Minister, India agreed to extend a government-to-government credit of Rs. 50 million and of Rs. 50 million by EXIM Bank under an earlier commitment.

The President of the African National Congress (ANC), Mr. Oliver Tamboo, as well as the President of the South West African Peoples Organisation (SWAPO), Mr. Sam Nujoma, also paid official visits to India in the first quarter of the year. Both these Presidents visited India in March 1983 for the NAM Summit and the SWAPO President was in India for the third time at the time of the Commonwealth Summit.

Numerous other visits also took place, important among which were those by the Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius, Foreign Ministers of Upper Volta and Guinea Bissau, and ministerial level visits from Mali, Ethiopia, Tanzania, etc. A large number of delegations were exchanged between India and the countries in Africa to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and have mutual exchange of views in diverse fields. The notable visits by Indian Ministers to African countries were those of the Minister of Education and the Minister of Labour.

The increasing trend of economic and technical cooperation with the countries of Africa was characterised by visits of delegations, deputation of Indian experts in diverse fields, and grant of scholarships to African students in various educational and specialised institutions in India. The total number of African students in India under bilateral and multilateral scholarships or on self-financing basis at present exceeds 8,000.

As a mark of our concern for the economic difficulties faced by the countries of the region due to natural calamities, India provided relief assistance of Rs. 1 lakh each to Mozambique, Comores and Ethiopia. Rs. 5 lakhs were spent on medicines which were given as a gift to the Central African Republic. Our moral, material and diplomatic support to liberation movements increased during the year under review and humanitarian aid of Rs. 12 lakhs was sanctioned for SWAPO and Rs. 6 lakhs for ANC.
-23>


EUROPE WESTERN EUROPE

Top

India's relations with the countries of Western Europe are friendly, and cooperation in different fields continued to grow. The year under review witnessed exchange of several important visits, facilitating greater mutual understanding of each other's viewpoints. European countries welcomed the assumption by India of the Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement. India's views, as leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, were solicited by West European countries on international economic and political issues. West Europe continued to play a significant role in the economic development of India through financial assistance, transfer of technology and technical assistance.

Queen Elizabeth of Britain visited India from 17 to 26 November 1983 at the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), when she had an opportunity of seeing the developments that have taken place in the country since her last visit in 1961. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was also here for the Commonwealth Meeting, availed of the opportunity to discuss bilateral and international issues. During the year under review, British Ministers of Foreign Trade, Defence Procurement, Overseas Development and Home Affairs visited India. Our Foreign Minister visited Britain from 31 October to 4 November 1983.

The year under review witnessed the strengthening of relations with France. The Foreign Minister of France, Claude Cheysson, made a stop-over visit in India on 28 March 1983 when he held discussions with our Foreign Minister. On her way to New York for the 38th UN General Assembly meeting, our Prime Minister made a stop-over in Paris, when she discussed international economic and political issues with President Mitterand. Our Minister of State for Electronics also visited France during the period under review.
-24>

The Ministry of External Affairs assisted the India International Centre in organising an Indo-French Colloquium from 24 to 26 October 1983 at which leading intellectuals, scientists, and journalists exchanged ideas for strengthening Indo-French and international relations.

Economic relations with France witnessed the consolidation of cooperation in various technological fields, particularly energy, power, coal and electronics. In June 1983, the Indo-French Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the fields of electronics, computers and informatics was signed. There are now fourteen Memorandum of Understanding Protocols between India and France, covering cooperation in various technical areas. Agreement has been reached on the details relating to the establishment in India of an Indo-French Centre for Advanced Research. The French Minister of Industry & Research, Mr. Laurent Fabius, visited India from 12 to 18 December 1983 and held wide- ranging discussions with Indian Ministers on ways and means of strengthening cooperation in technical and scientific fields. The French Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Michel Rocard, also visited India from 28 December 1983 to 4 January 1984 and held discussions with Indian Ministers regarding cooperation in the fields of agriculture, irrigation and rural development.

There was a steady growth in bilateral relations between India and the Federal Republic of Germany, especially in the economic and commercial fields. The transit visit of the Federal German Chancellor, Dr. Helmut Kohl, from 5 to 6 November 1983 provided an opportunity for exchange of views on bilateral and international matters. This first high-level contact between the Heads of the two Governments in the past decade supplemented exchange of views on bilateral technical levels. The Federal German Minister of Communications, Mr. Schwarz-Schilling, visited India in May 1983 which was followed by the visit of the Federal German Minister for Economic Cooperation, Dr. Juergen Warnke, to hold discussions relating to economic, industrial and technological collaboration. Our Minister of Agriculture visited the Anuga Fair in Cologne and held talks on bilateral matters with his Federal German counterpart. The Foreign Secretary visited Bonn from 21 to 22 April 1983 for bilateral consultations.

Indo-FRG trade has continued to record a steady growth over the years and attempts are being made to diversify the commodity range. German interest in Indian industry has been growing and a large number of Indo-FRG joint collaboration proposals have been received. India will participate as partner country in the Hanover Fair scheduled to be held in April 1984. This will be India's largest participation in an industrial exhibition abroad. Our participation in the Fair has received encouragement and support from the FRG authorities.

The Prime Minister made an official visit to Austria from 17 to 22 June 1983 during which she inaugurated the Indo-West European Dialogue Congress in Alpbach.
-25>
The Seminar helped to clear perceptions of the two regions, promote inter-regional cooperation and build bridges for strengthening relations. The Vice Chancellor of, Austria, Dr. Norbert Steger (who holds the portfolios of Commerce, Industry and Trade) visited India from 3 to 7 December 1983 and co-chaired the first meeting of the Indo-Austrian Mixed Commission.

The Prime Minister visited Norway, Finland and Denmark from 9 to 16 June 1983. During the visit, matters relating to the international situation and bilateral relations were discussed. A Memorandum of Understanding on Environment was signed with Norway and a Cultural Agreement with Finland. India's relations with the Scandinavian countries continued to be cordial. The Scandinavian countries extend substantial economic assistance to India, especially for projects in the rural development and social welfare fields.

For the first time in a decade, the Belgian Foreign Minister visited India from 15 to 19 January 1983. He held extensive discussions with various Cabinet Ministers on matters relating to strengthening of Indo-Belgian relations. Our Foreign Minister paid a working visit to Belgium and held discussions with the Belgian and EEC authorities. A Belgian Technological and Industrial Delegation led by Prince Albert visited India in November 1983.

The EEC continued to be an important trading partner of India, accounting for almost 27 per cent of India's foreign trade. The second session of the EEC-India Joint Commission, established under the Cooperation Agreement signed in 1981, took place in Brussels from 30 to 31 May 1983 when bilateral trade, trade promotional measures, industrial cooperation, transfer of technology, third-country projects and cooperation in science and technology were specifically discussed. India continued to receive food aid and financial and technical assistance from the EEC. A major Indo-EEC Conference on Industrial Technology and Investment was held in New Delhi in January 1983. In pursuance of the Indo-EEC Agreement of 1982, the European Community established its Delegation in India and the Head of the Delegation assumed charge in June 1983.

Indo-Swiss bilateral relations on trade, economic cooperation and investment came up for discussion at the meeting of the Indo- Swiss Joint Commission held in February 1983 in New Delhi. A working group was established to ensure proper follow-up of the initiatives taken by the Joint Commission. The Vice President paid a visit to Switzerland in connection with Red Cross activities.
-26>

The Italian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs visited India from 11 to 13 April 1983 for consultations on bilateral and international matters.

The instruments of ratification of the Cultural Agreement, signed between India and Spain in 1982 were exchanged at New Delhi during 1983.

The Prime Minister visited Cyprus and Greece from 20 to 24 September 1983. An Agreement on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation with Greece was signed during the visit.

Minister for Foreign Trade of the Netherlands, Mr. Frederik Bolkestein, visited India from 5 to 9 February 1983. An Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between the two countries was signed during the visit. The Indo-Netherlands Joint Business Council and the Indo-Netherlands Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation met in New Delhi in March 1983. The Minister of Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, Mrs. Eegje Schoo, visited India from 12 to 22 December 1983 and held discussions with Economic Ministries on various aspects of Indo- Dutch economic and technical cooperation.

Three countries from West Europe (UK, Malta and Cyprus) participated in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in New Delhi in November 1983. It was the largest CHOGM gathering, with 42 of the 44 Commonwealth countries being represented. The leaders reviewed the global political and economic situation.
THE USSR AND EASTERN EUROPE

India's friendly and cordial relations with Soviet Union and the other countries of East Europe developed satisfactorily during the year. The major high-level visits from India were those of President Giani Zail Singh to Czechoslovakia, Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi to Yugoslavia, and Minister of External Affairs to the Soviet Union, Romania and Hungary. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha also led Parliamentary delegations to Czechoslovakia and the GDR. Our economic relations with the countries in the area also continued to grow during 1983.

The Minister of External Affairs paid a brief visit to Moscow in September 1983 and had talks with the First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and Foreign Minister, Mr. Gromyko.
-27>
Indo-Soviet trade and economic cooperation expanded further during the period under review. The Soviet Union continued to be India's leading trading partner.

The Soviet First Deputy Premier, Mr. I. V. Arkhipov, visited India in May 1983 and had discussions with the Minister of External Affairs as well as other Ministers in the Union Cabinet on matters relating to economic cooperation. He was the chief guest at the inauguration of the Mathura Oil Refinery. Mr. Arkhipov visited India again in December 1983 to attend the Eighth Session of the Indo-Soviet Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation of which he is Co-chairman on the Soviet side. The Indian side to these talks was led by the Minister of External Affairs. The Joint Commission session provided an opportunity for an in-depth review of economic cooperation in diverse fields and for examining means of increasing cooperation. Another visit of note was that of Vice- Premier and Chairman of the USSR State Committee for Science and Technology, Mr. G. I. Marchuk.

In September 1983, the Commerce Minister, Shri V. P. Singh, paid an official visit to Moscow, during which there was a review of Indo-Soviet trade relations and discussion on the prospects for 1984. The Trade Plan for 1984 was agreed on in December 1983 and provides for a substantial increase in the turnover as compared to that in 1983.

The Working Groups under the Joint Commission in the sectors of coal, machinebuilding, power, steel and non-ferrous metallurgy met as scheduled during the period under review. The sub- commission for Science and Technology also held its meeting in New Delhi in December 1983 and finalised a programme of cooperation for 1984-87. Education, Culture, Public Health and Medicine were other areas which featured in bilateral cooperation during the period under review.

Other important visitors from India during the period under review were the Minister of Defence, the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and the Minister of State for Education, Culture and Social Welfare.

India played host to a delegation led by the Vice-President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the President of the Uzbek SSR, Mr. Usmankhodjaev, which attended the Independence Day celebrations. The visit was in response to an invitation by the Friends of the Soviet Union.

President Zhivkov of Bulgaria paid a State visit to India in December 1983 and had talks with the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister on questions of international and bilateral interest. President Zhivkov was accompanied by Foreign Minister, Mladenov and Foreign Trade Minister Hristov and senior officials. Just prior to the visit of the Bulgarian President, there was an inter-sessional meeting of the Indo-Bulgarian Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation,
-28>
the two sides being led respectively by the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Trade and the Minister of Agriculture, Shri Rao Birendra Singh. The meeting facilitated a review of economic cooperation and an examination of ways of expanding it. The two sides agreed to increase bilateral economic interchanges on a balanced basis, and to diversify imports from India. Another important visitor from Bulgaria was Mr. O. Doinov, Member of the Politburo and Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party and President of the Bulgarian Economic Association.

The President of India, Giani Zail Singh, paid a State visit to Czechoslovakia in December 1983. During the visit, talks were held with President Husak on bilateral subjects as well as important international questions. The visit gave an impetus to the development of relations between the two countries. A Parliamentary Delegation led by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha visited Czechoslovakia in July 1983. The exchange of views with the leaders of Czechoslovakia led to a reaffirmation of good bilateral relations. The Minister of Industry, Shri N. D. Tiwari, visited Czechoslovakia in September 1983 and discussed matters relating to Indo-Czechoslovak trade and economic cooperation. The Trade Plan for 1984 was also signed in New Delhi in December 1983.

A Parliamentary Delegation led by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha visited the GDR in June 1983. Talks were held with the GDR leaders on bilateral and international questions. The Deputy Chairman of the GDR Council of Ministers, Dr. G. Weiss, visited India in November 1983. The Protocol signed during the visit made a comprehensive review of Indo-GDR economic cooperation and identified possibilities of growth. These and other exchanges in the economic field contributed to an expansion of economic relations.

Foreign Minister Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao visited Hungary in September 1983 and had talks with Hungarian leaders on bilateral and international questions. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the steady development of bilateral relations in different fields. There was an exchange of economic and trade delegations during the period under review as part of the effort by both sides to expand trade and economic cooperation on a balanced basis.

The Indo-Polish Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific, and Technical Co-operation held its eighth meeting in December 1983. The two sides were led by
-29>
Deputy Premier Obodowski on the Polish side and the Minister of Energy on the Indian side. Bilateral economic relations, particularly in fields such as coal mining and heavy industry were reviewed.

The Minister of External Affairs visited Romania in September 1983 and held discussions with his counterpart and other Romanian leaders, including President Ceausescu. The visit was an occasion for discussing bilateral relations as well as for an exchange of views on international questions. On this occasion, as well as during the visits exchanged by economic and commercial delegations, possibilities of expanding trade and economic relations were discussed. The Trade Plan for 1984 provides for an increased turnover.

In June 1983 Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi paid an official visit to Yugoslavia. Discussions with the President and Prime Minister of Yugoslavia covered major international issues, the Non-Aligned Movement as well as bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi's visit to Yugoslavia coincided with the meeting of the Indo-Yugoslav Joint Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. Measures were agreed on at this meeting for maintaining the growth of bilateral trade. Both sides reiterated their resolve to continue the expansion of economic relations for mutual benefit.
-30>


THE AMERICAS NORTH AMERICA

Top

The momentum generated in bilateral relations between India and the United States following the Prime Minister's visit to USA in July-August 1982 was maintained to an extent by follow-up activities in various fields. A number of decisions taken during the visit were implemented in varying degrees in 1983. Despite differences in perception on a number of regional and global questions, India endeavoured to strengthen bilateral relations with the United States and to place them on an even keel.

The meeting between the Prime Minister and the US President on the occasion of the Prime Minister's visit to the United Nations in September 1983 provided an opportunity for an exchange of views at the highest level on a variety of bilateral and multilateral issues. The two leaders continued their correspondence on various matters of mutual concern.

The sequence of high-level contacts was kept up by the US Secretary of State's visit to India in June-July 1983. The Secretary of State held exhaustive discussions with the Foreign Minister on a number of questions of mutual interest. He also called on the Prime Minister. The visit enabled the Sixth Session of the Indo-US Joint Commission to take places in New Delhi.

Other visitors from the United States to India during the year were Senator Patrick Moynihan in January 1983; a delegation from the House Appropriations Committee led by Congressman Addabbo in August 1983; Congressman Stephen Solarz in September 1983; and Congressmen Brown and Sensenbrenner of the House Science & Technology Committee in December 1983. The former US Secretary of State Mr. Edmund Muskie, visited India at the invitation of the Government of India in connection with the Roosevelt Centenary celebrations. The Director of the USIA, Charles Wick, was in India in October 1983 and Assistant Secretary Gregory Newell in January 1983.

The US decision to supply sophisticated arms to Pakistan, beyond that country's legitimate defence needs, continued to cast a shadow over its relations with India. In
-31>
particular, the decision, to supply the Harpoon missiles caused an outcry in this country. There was also great concern that the stated reason for supplying arms to Pakistan was widened from the situation in Afghanistan with its repercussions on Pakistan, to the situation in the Indian Ocean and Pakistan's role in the Gulf.

During Secretary of State Shultz's visit to India, the United States announced its willingness to supply those spare parts for the Tarapur Atomic Power. Station which were not available from other sources. As a result, India began exploring the possibility of acquiring the spare parts from Western Europe. However, the year-end saw the spare parts issue still unresolved.

The US decision to grant a visa to the leader of the so-called Khalistan movement, Jagjit Singh Chauhan, to enter the United States and to carry out political activity there caused considerable controversy. The Government of India made known its unhappiness over this decision to the US Government.

The Indo-US Joint Commission held its Sixth Session in Delhi during the visit of Secretary of State Shultz. The Sub- Commissions on Education & Culture, on Economic and Commercial matters met in April and December 1983 in San Francisco and New Delhi respectively. The Indo-US Senior Scientists Panel, which was established as the result of an agreement during the Prime Minister's visit to the USA in 1982 also held its first meeting in January 1983.

In pursuance of the desire to step up commercial contacts, a delegation from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) of the USA visited India in February-March 1983. The delegation held fruitful meetings with Government officials and private sector organisations. The Engineering Export Promotion Council of India organised a Seminar in Houston (Texas) in November 1983 which was widely attended by US commercial organizations, and also by the US Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Malcolm Baldrige. Opportunities for trade and joint ventures with India and third countries were identified.

Relations between India and Canada were further strengthened during the period under review, which saw the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to India for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Minister for Health Shri B. Shankaranand attended the Commonwealth Health Ministers meeting in Ottawa during October 1983. The Indian delegation to the ICAO meeting held in Montreal in September 1983 was led by the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation, Shri M.M. Kohli.

The Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for External Affairs, Mr. Allan MacEachen, paid an official visit to India in July 1983. The talks focussed both on the international situation and on bilateral economic and commercial matters, 2 EA/83-6
-32>
The Canadian Deputy Prime Minister also held discussions with the Finance Minister and the Minister of Industry.
A delegation from the province of British Columbia led by the provincial Minister of Finance, Huge Curtis, visited India in October 1983.
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Relations between India and Central and South America and the Caribbean continued to be market by increasing cooperation. The year began with the meeting of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned countries at Managua (Nicaragua) where India played a moderating role in finalising the Document subsequently used during the Non- Aligned Summit at New Delhi.

The mediation effort known as the Contadora Initiative began in January 1983 when Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela commenced their efforts to defuse the tension in the Central American region. India issued a statement on 24 August 1983 welcoming and supporting the efforts made by these four countries to find a peaceful negotiated solution to the crisis in Central America.

The Bahamas, Barbados and Colombia became full members of the Non-Aligned Movement during the 1983 Summit, while Antigua and Barbuda participated as Observers. Guest status was accorded to the Dominican Republic. The Non-Aligned Summit also saw the visit to New Delhi of the Presidents of Argentina, Cuba, Guyana, Nicaragua, Suriname as well as several Foreign Ministers from the region.

On 24 October 1983 USA and six Caribbean countries Jointly invaded Grenada. The invasion followed an internal power struggle in Grenada in which Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and some Cabinet Ministers were killed on 19 November 1983 and power was seized by the army. The invasion was widely criticised. The Government of India made a statement on 26 October 1983 strongly opposing interference and intervention by any country in another country and urging the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces from Grenada.
-33>
The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri P. Venkatasubbaiah, represented India on the occasion of the independence celebrations of St. Christopher-Nevis.

The President of India sent a message of congratulations to the new Argentine President, Raul Alfonsin. The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri A. A. Rahim, represented India during the inaugural ceremonies.
The Trade Fair Authority of India participated successfully in the International Trade Fair held at Caracas in May 1983. The Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri Farooq Abdullah, inaugurated the Indian Pavilion as well as the film "Gandhi".

The Governments of India and Mexico have exchanged the Instruments of Ratification of the Agreement on Economic Cooperation signed in November 1982.

In the cultural field, India paid homage to the memory of Simon Bolivar, the 'Liberator' of Latin America. A stamp was released on the occasion of the Simon Bolivar Bicentenary, and a plaque was erected on Simon Bolivar Marg in New Delhi to commemorate his memory. Gift sets of the stamp were presented to the President and other leading personalities of Venezuela, and a translation into Hindi of SalcedoBastardo's famous biography of Bolivar has been undertaken and is expected to be completed by March 1984. It is to be published by the ICCR. The Venezuelan Embassy in New Delhi also organised a pictorial exhibition on Bolivar's life which was inaugurated by the President, Giani Zail Singh. A seminar and essay competition on Simon Bolivar was also organised.

In September 1982 the Indian Embassy in Buenos Aires had organised an "India Week" which was inaugurated by the President of Argentina and which proved to be a great success. The exhibition was later set up in Paraguay and Uruguay. The Argentine Embassy in New Delhi in turn, organised a similar "Argentina Week" in New Delhi in May 1983. A portrait of Mahatma Gandhi by an Argentine artist was gifted to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Vasant Sathe.

A number of visits were exchanged during the year. The Minister for External Affairs, Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, and the Minister of Commerce, Shri V. P. Singh, visited Buenos Aires to attend the Group of 77 meeting in April 1983 and
-34>
Shri Narasimha Rao stayed on after conclusion for a bilateral visit. The Chief of the Argentine Air Force, Brig. Gen. Augusto Jorge Hughes, visited India in November 1983 during which he called on the Prime Minister in addition to having official discussions with Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh. The Argentinian Air Force has assisted the Indian expeditions to the Antarctic.

The indian Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Arif Mohd. Khan, and the Minister of Agriculture for Argentina, Senor Victor Hug Santirs, exchanged visits during the course of the year. An Argentinian business delegation also visited India as a follow-up to the visit of Dr. Felix Pena in 1982 and in accordance with the IndoArgentinian Agreement on Economic Cooperation. A Shipping Agreement was signed between the Argentine shipping company, ELMA, and the Shipping Corporation of India in October 1983 in Singapore. The ratification of this agreement is awaited.

In connection with the Non-Aligned Summit meeting the Cuban Vice President Carlos Rafael Rodriguez and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Jose Viera, visited India in February 1983 while Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri K. S. Bajpai, visited several Non-Aligned countries of Latin America. Two members of Parliament, S/Shri Arun Nehru and Udaya Singh Gaekwad, represented India at the 30th Anniversary of the Attack on the Moncada Garrison in Cuba in July 1983. Dr. Fidel Castro Diaz Balart, son of President Fidel Castro Ruz of Cuba, was in India from 25 September to 6 October 1983 as a guest of the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission Dr. Diaz-Balart is the Executive Secretary, Executive Secretariat for Nuclear Affairs of the Council of Ministers of Cuba. A Cuban trade delegation came to India in October 1983 and stayed for over a month. An agreement was entered into by them with CIMMCO Industries, Bombay for the export of various goods to Cuba.

Shri D. P. Jadeja, M.P., visited several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in his capacity as President of the Indian Society for Latin America, and was present in Caracas (Venezuela) for some of the celebrations of the Simon Bolivar Bicentenary. Dr. Karan Singh, M.P. covered Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname and Guyana in his study tour of Latin America during May 1983. Mrs. Margaret Alva went to Havana at the invitation of the Cuban Institute of Friendship and Culture with the Peoples at the end of September 1983.

The Indian Cricket team played matches against the West Indies in the Caribbean from April to May 1983 and in India from October 1983.
-35>
Mrs. Viola Forbes Burnham, First Lady of Guyana, visited India from 17 to 22 November 1983 to view small-scale and cottage industries, mainly pertaining to coir and banana fibre. She also visited the Prototype Development Training Centres in Madras and Delhi. The Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in Port- of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, from 20 to 23 September 1983. The Indian delegation was led by the Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and Finance Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Shri P. K. Kaul. From Port-of-Spain the delegation proceeded to Washington for the IMF/World Bank Meeting held from 22 to 30 September 1983.
-36>


UNITED NATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

Top

During the year under review, India played an active and constructive role in the field of multilateral diplomacy at the United Nations, in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and at various other international fora. The Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries was held in New Delhi from 7 to 12 March 1983 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi. At the New Delhi Summit, the members of the Movement adopted a comprehensive statement on the political and economic situation of the world. The views of the Movement were summed up in the New Delhi Message. A comprehensive report on the Summit was given in a Supplement to the Annual Report of the Ministry of External Affairs for 1982-83.
Summit Level Gathering in New York

After the New Delhi Non-Aligned Summit, the Prime Minister addressed letters to leaders of Member countries of the UN highlighting some of the crucial issues facing the world which were considered at the New Delhi Conference, and apprised these leaders of the main conclusions and recommendations of the Summit. The Prime Minister urged Heads of State or Government of Member States of UN to utilise the opportunity offered by the 38th Session of the UN General Assembly to undertake a collective appraisal with a view to finding speedy and just solution to some of the major problems of the world.

In response to this call, 24 Heads of State/Government met in New York in two informal get togethers on September 27 and 29 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi. Both the President of the General Assembly and the UN Secretary General were present during these meetings. Prime Minister also met other Heads of State/Government, e.g. President Reagon of the USA and Prime Minister Thatcher of UK who did not take part in the consultations. This unique gathering was a representative one, and cut across ideological, geographical and economic frontiers. It provided a rare opportunity to the participants to demonstrate their common concern at the continuing deterioration in the international situation and their collective commitment to reducing international tension, strengthening peace
-37>
and security and, above all, promoting economic development. The main subjects which engaged the attention of the leaders were the issues of peace, disarmament, development and strengthening of the UN. The world economic crisis and problems of development which are of immediate concern came up for detailed consideration. In spite of different approaches on some issues, the leaders displayed a sense of realism and common purpose in addressing themselves to these important issues of human survival and development. They agreed that the meetings were useful and that the dialogue should continue involving other leaders also.

The Prime Minister officially led the Indian delegation to the 38th Session of the UNGA. Addressing the Assembly on 28 September 1983 Prime Minister formally conveyed the message of the New Delhi Summit to the world body. She called for new initiatives from the industrialised world in bringing about economic reform and in calling a halt to the arms race. The thrust of her address was on peace, disarmament, and development. Prime Minister also elaborated on the role of the Non-Aligned Movement in the present world context and called for greater support to the United Nations.

India also, participated actively, and at a high level, at other international meetings, under the aegis of the UN and the G-77. These included the International Conference on the Question of Palestine in Geneva, the International Conference in Support of the Struggle of the Namibian People for Independence in Paris, the Ministerial Conference of the Group of 77 in Buenos Aires and UNCTAD VI in Belgrade. India's role and participation in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, of which it assumed the Chairmanship in March 1983 are dealt with in another section of this Report. India also played host to the CHOGM in New Delhi in November 1983.

India's stature and role in world affairs were reflected also in its successufl election to various UN Organs and bodies during the year. The most important of these is the Security Council, to which India was elected by an impressive margin for the fifth time. During 1983 India was also elected to the Population Commission, the Industrial Development Board of UNIDO, the Committee for Programme and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. A representative of India was also elected to the Advisory Committee on Administration and Budgetary Questions.
Political Issues
In all the three main forums dealing with the question of disarmament within the UN system, namely, the Committee on Disarmament, the UN Disarmament Commission and the First Committee of the General Assembly, India continued to play a constructive role during the year under review. In the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva, which is the sole multilateral negotiating body on disarmament matters, India has consistently tried to keep the focus of negotiations on the most urgent
-38>
measures in the field of nuclear disarmament through active involvement in the work of ad hoc working groups on nuclear test ban, on the one hand, and by demanding the establishment of ad hoc working groups on prevention of nuclear war and on nuclear disarmament, on the other. In addition, the Indian delegation fully cooperated with the ad hoc working group on chemical weapons in its progress towards an early conclusion of the negotiations for elaboration of an international convention banning chemical weapons. It has been the constant endeavour of India to ensure that the Committee on Disarmament does not detract from the most crucial issues before it, namely prevention of nuclear war and the cessation and reversal of the nuclear arms race.

In the UN Disarmament Commission also, which is a deliberative organ on disarmament issues, India has tried, in cooperation with the Non-Aligned group of countries to work out an effective and purposeful approach towards the crucial disarmament issues before the world, particularly those relating to nuclear disarmament. While reiterating its commitment to general and complete disarmament under effective international control, India carried out extensive discussions with the members of the Disarmament Commission to ensure that the priorities in this field were not disrupted and peripheral issues were not allowed to distract international attention from the principal task of elimination of nuclear weapons.

In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, at its 38th session, India again tabled resolutions on a Convention on prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons and on the freeze on nuclear weapons. The purpose behind this exercise was to reaffirm the importance and significance of these immediate measures, the adoption of which would considerably minimise the threat of a nuclear war. Both these resolutions were supported by an overwhelming majority of member nations of the UN. In all, 62 resolutions came up for vote before the First Committee, dealing with various issues on disarmament, of which India co-sponsored 10 and voted in favour of 43. As for resolution pertaining to matters which, in the view of the Indian delegation, were not of immediate priority or which served to trivialise, or defer, the need to come to grips with the most essential question of nuclear disarmament, India held serious reservations. In the explanation of its negative votes on two and abstentions on 17 resolutions, India put forth its principal position behind its dissenting vote. Through active consultations with members of the Non- Aligned group it was possible to make a constructive contribution to the work of the First Committee.

India participated actively during the year in the work of the United Nations Council for Namibia, the legal administering authority established by the United Nations for the territory until independence, of which it is a founder member and Vice- President. The Minister of State for External Affairs led the Indian delegation to the International Conference on the Struggle of the Namibian People for Independence, held in Paris from 25 to 29 April 1983 and made a statement in his capacity
-39>
as special reptresentative of the Chairperson of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. The Minister of External Affairs personally participated in the debate in the Security Council on the Namibian question in May 1983 and opened the debate on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. In the context of consideration of the issue by the General Assembly, the Indian delegation participated actively in the drafting of the five resolutions on Namibia.

On the question of Apartheid, the 38th General Assembly, after an extensive debate, adopted as many as twelve resolutions. All these resolutions were drafted by the Special Committee against Apartheid. India, being an active member of the Special Committee, played a leading and constructive role in making these resolutions more cohesive and meaningful. Eleven of these resolutions were adopted by an overwhelming majority vote, with only a handful of Western countries either voting against or abstaining. India, while co-sponsoring seven of these, voted in favour of all the resolutions. The twelfth resolution entitled United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa, which was also co- sponsored by India, was, adopted without vote. The resolutions adopted also included a new resolution by which the General Assembly firmly rejected the so-called New Racial Constitution of South Africa by 141 votes to none with seven abstentions. This resolution was also co-sponsored by India.

The Indian delegate, in his statement on the subject, expressed disappointment over the fact that some of the affluent and industrialised nations, who proclaimed their support to the cause of human rights, equality and justice in other parts of the world continued to collaborate with the racist regime of South Africa in various fields, thereby, giving a fresh lease of life to that regime. He said such collaboration emboldened the racist regime to trample upon the human rights and dignity of the vast majority of the population of that country and to flout the numerous resolutions adopted by the United Nations on the subject. India once again appealed to the international community for the imposition of sanctions against the racist regime of South Africa and for moral and material support to the Frontline States.

The volatile situation in Central America remained a focal point of international concern throughout the period under review. The Security Council was called into session on three occasions during 1983 following complaints by Nicaragua. The General Assembly also considered this matter as a new item on its agenda. India spoke twice in the Council on behalf of the Non- Aligned countries and also convened several meeting of the Non- Aligned Coordinating Bureau to consider the threat to peace and security in the region particularly in the light of ostensible external interference and intervention in the area. The adoption by the General Assembly of a resolution by consensus, for which primary credit must go to the perseverance of the Contadora Group of countries (Colombia Mexico, Panama and Venezuela) as also to the flexibility and statesmanship of Nicaragua, was one of the most significant achievements of the 38th session. As 1983 drew to a close, the positive efforts of 2 EA/83-7
-40>
the Contadora Countries and the spirit of accommodation demonstrated by the Government of Nicaragua had produced a distinct and positive change in the situation, although speculation about possible external intervention persisted.

The massive military intervention in Grenada by the United States and some Caribbean countries cast an ominous shadow on international relations, particularly those between East and West. India joined others in participating in the Security Council debate on the subject maintaining inter alia, that the invasion could not be justified and was inconsistent with the basic laws of international behaviour and that the developments in Grenada had caused deep disquiet and grave concern among the Non-Aligned countries. The draft resolution before the Council was vetoed by the USA. Subsequently, the matter was taken up by the General Assembly which adopted a resolution deeply deploring the armed intervention and calling for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from Grenada. India voted in favour of the resolution, along with 107 other countries.

In pursuance of the decision of the General Assembly, an International Conference on the question of Palestine was convened in Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983 to seek effective ways and means to enable the Palestinian people to attain and exercise their inalienable rights. The Conference adopted, by acclamation, the Geneva Declaration on Palestine and Programme of Action for the achievement of Palestinian rights. The highlight of the Geneva Declaration was the call for the convening of an International Peace Conference on the Middle East under the auspices of the UN with the aim of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, an essential element of which would be the establishment of an indpendent Palestinian State in Palestine. The Indian delegation to the Conference was led by the Foreign Minister, Shri Narasimha Rao who addressed the Conference on behalf of the Chairperson of the Movement of Non-Aligned countries. India played an important and constructive role at the conference to evolve acceptable formulations on contentious issues and served as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.

The Middle East problem received considerable attention from the General Assembly which adopted a number of resolutions, many of which were co-sponsored by India. The new major elements in the resolutions were the recognition of the time factor in achieving a just solution to the problem of Palestine, the endorsement by the General Assembly of the Geneva Declaration on Palestine, and the call for convening an International Peace Conference on the Middle East in conformity with certain guidelines which, inter alia, include the invitation to all parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the PLO as well as the USA, USSR and other concerned States "to participate in the international peace conference on an equal footing with equal rights". Another resolution, co-sponsored by the Arab countries on the agreements following the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Israel, was approved by the General Assembly by 81 votes in favour, 7 against and 29 abstentions. The resolution demands that all States, particularly the USA (in light of the said agreements)
-41>
refrain from taking any step that would support Israel's war capabilities and consequently its aggressive acts.

A number of Arab and Islamic countries placed their reservations on the credentials of the delegation of Israel to the 38th session, voicing their indignation over Israel's flagrant and persistent violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter. An Iranian amendment to the report of the Credentials Committee, seeking the rejection of the credentials of Israel, was however not accepted by the General Assembly. Taking note of the reservations made on the Israeli credentials, the Indian representative observed that this reflected a sense of outrage by the overwhelming majority of the member States of the UN over the defiant refusal by Israel to comply with the relevant UN resolutions and violation of its Charter obligations.

During the period under review the General Assembly again adopted a resolution on the armed Israeli aggression against Iraqi nuclear installations. While voting for the resolution, the Indian delegate stated that the gravity of the Israeli crime would have been equally reprehensible even if Iraq had not been a signatory to the NonProliferation Treaty (NPT). It was clarified that India's support to the resolution was without prejudice to its well-known views on references to the NPT and the related full-scope safeguards which figured in the resolution.

As in previous years the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the cooperation between the UN and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference seeking to expand the institutional linkage between the UN and the Islamic Conference. The resolution was adopted without vote. In this context, India reiterated its view that a narrow sectarian approach in dealing with political, economic, social, cultural or humanitarian questions or the use of religious sentiments for promoting sectarian interests should be discouraged.

The UN General Assembly once again considered the question of Afghanistan and adopted a resolution which was similar to the one adopted in 1982 by 116 votes in favour, 20 against and 17 abstentions. India, as in previous years, abstained. The Indian delegate participating in the debate once again stressed the need to prevent escalation of tensions in the region and to take effective action to defuse them. He urged all concerned to work for the evolution of a political solution based on a dialogue between the parties directly involved. He said that the prospect for a satisfactory solution lay in the success of the Secretary General's efforts.

The situation in Kampuchea also received the attention of the General Assembly. While a number of delegations, including India, expressed their reservations on the credentials of Democratic Kampuchea, there was no formal move in the General Assembly to challenge its credentials. The substantive resolution on Kampuchea was
-42>
adopted by 105 votes in favour, 23 against and 19 abstentions. As in previous years India abstained on the ground that the adoption of a resolution that satisfied only one side would obstruct rather than encourage constructive contacts. India advocated a compehensive political solution as recommended by the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries.

Consequent upon the adoption by the Security Council of Resolution 540 on 31 October 1983 on the situation between Iran and Iraq, which was rejected by Iran, the debate on the agenda item dealing with the Iran-Iraq conflict in the General Assembly was postponed to the resumed session, in consultation with the parties concerned. It was felt that a debate on this item in the Assembly may lead to strong statements which may impede the Secretary General's mediation efforts.

The prospects for convening a conference on the Indian Ocean receded further when the General Assembly adopted without vote a resolution requesting the Ad hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean "to make decisive efforts in 1984 to complete preparatory work relating to the conference on the Indian Ocean, in consideration of the political and security climate in the region with a view to enabling the opening of the conference in Colombo in the first half of 1985". The Western powers maintained that there was no possibility of convening a conference unless there was an improvement in the political and security climate in the region, a reference to the foreign intervention in Afghanistan. In addition, they wanted the Ad hoc Committee to harmonise views with regard to the concept of zone of peace and the objectives of the conference. This was strongly opposed by the Socialist countries who accused the Western countries of introducing elements extraneous to the convening of the conference and complicating the preparatory work. The Socialist countries called for a separate vote on the relevant paragraphs of the resolution and abstained on them. The US also dissociated itself from support for the resolution while accusing the USSR of breaking the tradition of consensus and indicated that while the US was willing to join the consensus, in view of USSR's action it would not participate in the decision on this item. The resolution, which was prepared after months of intensive negotiations, therefore could not be adopted by consensus as in previous years, due to the inflexible attitude of some powers, though it was adopted without a vote.

The Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus on 15 November 1983 exacerbated tensions on the island and caused a serious setback to the efforts of the UN Secretary General to bring about a negotiated settlement. The Security Council adopted a resolution which, inter alia, deplored the declaration of purported secession of a part of the Republic of Cyprus and considered it legally invalid, calling for its withdrawal. Pakistan cast the lone negative vote on this text and Jordan abstained. India participated in the debate in the Council, expressing shock and concern at the Turkish Cypriot UDI, urging its revocation and stressing
-43>
that no support through recognition or other means be given by any member State of the UN to the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. India also availed itself of the opportunity to express the firm position of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries on the Cyprus question, supporting the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and Non-Alignment of the Republic of Cyprus. In our statement we also urged that the intercommunal talks be resumed under the auspices of the UN Secretary General.

Subsequently, the five-member Commonwealth Action Group on Cyprus set up by the CHOGM visited New York, at the Ministerial level, and had a meeting with the UN Secretary General on 19 December 1983. The Minister of External Affairs represented India at this meeting. The members of the Action Group informed the Secretary General of their intention to conduct their activities in a manner consistent with and supportive of his efforts to implement the relevant Security Council resolutions.

The unfortunate incident involving the shooting down of a Korean Airlines aircraft generated considerable tension and served to exacerbate the deterioration in the international climate. The matter was considered by the Security Council, where a large number of countries deplored the destruction of a civilian aircraft. Other delegations did not feel it advisable to pass judgement before securing the full facts relating to the incident and yet others supported the contention that the aircraft had behaved in a suspicious manner and was probably being used for intelligence purposes. The USSR felt constrained to veto the draft resolution tabled in the Council which, inter alia sought to deeply deplore the incident. The statement made by the official spokesman of the Government of India on 7 September 1983 was circulated as an official document of the Council. India deeply deplored the incident and in various fora demanded that full facts of the incident should be clearly established before reaching any conclusions. The Indian spokesman cautioned that in an atmosphere of growing international tension surcharged with suspicion, there was always a risk of even an error leading to calamity. The incident also figured in the proceedings of the 5th General Assembly of the World Tourism Organisation, held in Delhi in October 1983.

India acceded to the Antarctic Treaty on 19 August 1983 and was accorded Consultative status under the Treaty at the 5th Special Consultative Meeting held in Canberra on 12 September 1983. Having been accepted as a Consultative Party, India participated in the 12th Regular Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in Canberra from 13 to 27 September 1983. A number of issues with reference to Antarctica focussing on Environment, Natural Resources, Telecommunication, Scientific Research and Tourism and governmental expeditions were discussed. The meeting also adopted a draft recommendation proposed by India declaring that the plaque commemorating the visit of the first Indian expedition, at the site Dakshin Gangotri, be added to the list of historic monuments.
-44>
For the first time the General Assembly discussed the question of Antarctica at its 38th Session. The initiative to inscribe this item in the agenda of the General Assembly came primarily from Malaysia. Earlier, the Seventh Non-Aligned Summit held in New Delhi had urged that the UN should undertake a comprehensive study on Antarctica with a view to promoting wider international cooperation in the area. The debate on this item in the General Assembly revealed wide concern among many Non-Aligned Countries about the exclusivity provisions of the Antarctic Treaty and its decision-making process. These countries stressed that Antarctica be considered the common heritage of mankind. On the other hand, the treaty powers stressed that the Antarctic Treaty regime had preserved international peace and security, promoted peaceful cooperation and scientific research in the area. reconciled conflicting territorial claims and maintained the area as a nuclear-free zone. After a debate, the General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus, which requested the Secretary General "to prepare a comprehensive, factual and objective study on all aspects of Antarctica, taking fully into account the Antarctic Treaty system and the relevant factors". The resolution was the result of intensive negotiation between the Non-Aligned and the developing countries on the one hand and the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs) on the other. India, as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement and as an ATCP played a constructive role in the deliberations and contributed significantly to the evolution of a consensus.

On the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), the General Assembly adopted a resolution very similar to the one adopted in 1982, reiterating its request to the Governments of Argentina and UK to resume negotiations in order to find, as soon as possible, a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute relating to the islands and requesting the Secretary General to continue his renewed mission of good offices. India voted in favour of the resolution.

Consistent with its traditional active role on decolonisation issues in general, India participated in the debate on this item in the Fourth Committee and plenary of the General Assembly and in the deliberations of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation, of which India is also a founding member. Among the major achievements of the 38th General Assembly session in this context was the adoption of a consensus resolution on the question of Western Sahara. It is hoped that, with the significant developments that have taken place on this question in the last year in the Organisation of African Unity and the UN, this long-standing problem would be resolved without much further delay.

During the course of the debate on the agenda item on International Cooperation to Avert New Flows of Refugees, the Indian representative said that the Tamils in Sri Lanka felt particularly unnerved by recent events and were wanting to seek refuge in India. The resolution on this question, which inter alia, had commended the work of the Expert Group on the subject, was adopted without a vote by the General Assembly.
-45>
The 27th Regular Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference met in Vienna from 10 to 14 October 1983. India was once again designated for membership of the IAEA's Board of Governors. The statement by the leader of the Indian delegation, Dr. Raja Ramanna, was welcomed by most delegations for its clarity, forthrightness and its positive tone. The 27th regular session of the General Conference of the IAEA also approved the entry of the People's Republic of China into the Agency. The General Conference also adopted major resolutions on the consequences of the Israeli military attack on the Iraqi nuclear research reactor and the need to bring South Africa's nuclear establishment under IAEA inspection. Resolutions on these issues were adopted by 23 majority. India continued to maintain its principled position on issues such as the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and full-scope safeguards.

The International Conference on Radio-active Waste Management sponsored by the IAEA and the US Department of Energy was held in Seattle, USA, in March 1983. It demonstrated clearly that technology is available today for the setting, design, construction and operation of waste management systems. This was the most comprehensive conference yet held on nuclear waste management.

Through a unanimous resolution adopted by the 38th session of the UN General Assembly it was decided that the UN Conference for the Promotion of International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy be held in 1986. Its 5th PRECOM will be held for a 2-week period in June 1984 at Vienna.

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space met at New York in November-December 1983. However, at the 38th session of the UN General Assembly consensus eluded the deliberations of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space mainly on account of disagreement over the issues of militarisation of Outer Space. Whereas the US delegation adopted the view that the Committee was not mandated to consider the question of militarisation of Outer Space, the East European Group as well as the Group of 77 were of the view that the subject needed to be discussed in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The differences of opinion on this question and minor differences on the question of definition and delimitation of space. the character and utilization of geostationary orbit, consideration of the local implications of remote sensing of earth from space, etc., prevented the Committee from arriving at a consensus. Accordingly, the omnibus resolution on Outer Space was adopted with 124 votes in favour, 12 against and 8 abstantions. The West European and Other Group either voted against or abstained.

The work of the Legal Sub-Committee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space has, consequently, become more difficult on the questions of remote sensing, use of nuclear power sources in Outer Space and definition and delimitation
-46> of Outer Space. Despite India's best efforts no progress could be achieved at the 22nd session of the Legal Sub-Committee held in New York from 21 March to 8 April 1983.
Economic Issues
At the UN, India's effort was directed at giving a practical thrust to the concerns of the developing countries as already expressed in the Economic Declaration adopted by the 7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Heads of State Government in New Delhi in March 1983. More particularly it was to see if effective shape could be provided to the three-pronged strategy relating to the Global Negotiations, the Programme of Immediate Measures and the convening of the International Conference on Money and Finance for Development with universal participation.

The exchanges, both formal and informal, during the 38th session of the UN General Assembly showed only a marginal change in the negative attitudes of the developed countries. In the case of the Programme of Immediate Measures, there was no attempt on the part of the developed countries to permit the adoption of any action-oriented resolution. Similarly, on the proposal to convene the International Conference on Money and Finance for Development (ICMFD), it was generally clear that the developed countries would not agree to the UN being directly involved either in the preparatory or the final process for the convening of the Conference.

At different world forums India's role was active and as usual motivated towards achieving to the greatest extent possible, within the limitations of the existing negative atmosphere, some movement towards meeting the urgent needs of the developing countries, Feeling that more time was necessary to realise the full benefits of the political initiatives launched by the Seventh NAM Summit and the Prime Minister of India's initiatives at the New York consultations, India motivated the Group of 77 to keep its options open by accepting that neither on Programme of Immediate Measures nor on the ICMFD should any decisions be adopted which were not secured by consensus.

The Second Committee of the 38th General Assembly Session adopted all the resolutions in areas of critical importance by consensus. Among these were two resolutions on Energy, and resolutions on Immediate Measures, the Report of the UNCTAD-VI, Industrial Development Cooperation, Conversion of UNIDO into a Specialised Agency, Long-term Financing System for Science and Technology for Development. UNDP, Operational Activities for Development, Consumer Protection and Protection against products Harmful to Health and Environment. The resolution,on Protectionism and Structural Adjustment which deals with an area of crucial importance to developing countries was deferred to the 39th General Assembly.
-47>
The consensus on important resolutions was achieved by a substantial dilution of the original positions of the Group of 77. A salient feature during these negotiations was the feeling that the international political and economic environment was not conducive to the achievement of any real progress on the establishment of a dialogue.

India took the initiative in the decision to hold an open- ended informal meeting in order to determine what was the actual position on contribution by both the developed and developing countries to the Long-Term Financing System for Science and Technology for Development. The outcome was not encouraging as only a few developed countries were willing to provide an indicative figure of their contributions.

On immediate implementation of the Nairobi Programme of Action for New and Renewable Sources of Energy and the Development of Energy Resources of Developing Countries, our interests were taken into account particularly in the areas of mobilisation of resources. A strong position on these issues has always been maintained by India and for the first time a resolution focussing on the problems of energy-deficient developing countries was adopted by the General Assembly, thus bringing energy under the purview of the UN.

India participated in two meetings in Madrid and Vienna for setting up an International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. India became its founder member by signing the Statutes along with 25 other countries. India is among the front- runners for the location of the Centre.
Information-related Issues

Another important item which was considered in the Special Political Committee this year related to the question of Information. The Indian delegate participating in the debate on the question relating to Information in the Committee reiterated India's continued commitment to and cooperation in the attainment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order intended to strengthen peace and international understanding, based on the free circulation and wider and better balanced dissemination of information. The Indian delegate noted with satisfaction that the Department of Public Information of the UN had continued to strengthen its cooperation with the pool of news agencies as well as with regional news agencies of the developing countries. She, however, felt that there was still further scope for broadening and strengthening such cooperation.
Administrative and Financial Issues
On personnel questions India, along with China and Pakistan, urged that proper weightage must be given to countries with larger population and low per capita income in the calculation of posts available to them in the UN.
-48>
Social and Humanitarian Issues
India's perception of and participation in the work of the Human Rights bodies within the UN system is moulded by democratic institutions, Fundamental Freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution and Rule of Law obtaining in the national context, and a projection of these very institutions and principles internationally. It has been our view that Human Rights bodies within the UN system should provide a forum for impartial deliberation of human rights issues and situations, for consciousnessraising on a global scale, as a means of generating moral pressure on countries, governments and peoples guilty of gross and flagrant violations of human rights and for the evolution of norms and standards relating to Human Rights. India's participation in the work of the Human Rights Commission, the central coordinating body of the UN on Human Rights matters, the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, and expert subsidiary organ of the Human Rights Commission, and several working groups set up by these bodies on specific questions like torture, slavery-like practices, apartheid, minorities etc., has been aimed at enabling these bodies to perform their role in a more effective manner for the protection and promotion of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms.

As a member of the Human Rights Commission, in keeping with past practice, India continued to press for universal condemnation of and unified as well as strong action against such phenomena of gross and flagrant violations of Human Rights as the abhorrent practices of apartheid in South Africa and Namibia and the injustices perpetrated against the Palestinian and other Arabs in territories occupied by Israel. India has been represented in the ad-hoc working group of experts on Southern Africa set up by the Commission which catalogues and monitors on a continuing basis the Human Rights situation in Southern Africa. In the evolution of Human Rights norms, India has taken the lead in establishing and promoting the concept of Right to Development as a Human Right, a concept which embraces both individual and collective, legal and moral aspects India is playing an active part in a working group of the Commission which is drafting a Declaration on the Right to Development.

India has acceded to several international instruments on Human Rights, including the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and International Convention on the suppression and punishment of the crime of Apartheid. Our periodic Report was submitted before the Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination during the period under review and our initial report was submitted before the Group of Three on Convention on Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

India participated in the Second World Conference to combat Racism and Racial Discrimination in Geneva from 1 to 12 August 1983 and actively worked to draft a Declaration and Programme of Action for the Second Decade to combat Racism.
-49>
Other Conferences

The 12th Congress of the World Energy Conference was held in New Delhi from 1 to 23 September 1983. This Conference was hosted by the Indian National Committee headed by the Secretary in the Ministry of Energy.

The 5th Session of the WTO General Assembly was successfully held in New Delhi from 3 to 14 October 1983. The General Assembly meets every two years and it was held in India for the first time.

The International Air Transport Association held its annual meeting in New Delhi on 24 and 25 October 1983. The meeting was hosted jointly by the Air India and the Indian Airlines.
Activities of the Non-Aligned Movement

Throughout the period under review, the Non-Aligned Movement remained actively seized of developments in various parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East, Central America and Southern Africa, in conformity with and in pursuance of the decisions taken at the Seventh Summit. Meetings of the Coordinating Bureau were held at regular intervals and at times when the need arose.

The Movement was very active on the question of Palestine. The Coordinating Bureau of the Movement heard statements from the representative of the Palestine Liberation Organisation at its meetings of 14 April and 27 July 1983 held at the United Nations Headquarters, on developments in the occupied territories including the reported mass poisoning of Arab schoolgirls in the occupied West Bank and the killings of students in Al Khalil (Hebron), Nablus and at Bir Zeit University.

The Minister of External Affairs, representing the Chairperson of the Movement participated in the International Conference on the question of Palestine held in Geneva from 29 August to 7 September 1983 as also in the earlier regional preparatory meeting in Kuala Lumpur from 3 to 7 May 1983.

The Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, convened an official-level meeting of the Non- Aligned Committee on Palestine in New Delhi on 30 and 31 October 1983. Subsequently, on 18 November 1983 a Ministeriallevel meeting of the Committee was also convened. Following this meeting the Prime Minister as Chairperson deputed a four-member Non-Aligned Ministerial Group led by the Minister of External Affairs, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao, to visit some Arab capitals regarding the situation in the Middle East including Northern Lebanon. The Ministerial Group visited Kuwait and Damascus and held consultations with various leaders there. During its visit, the Group was able to obtain from the concerned leaders assurances in respect of a ceasefire without any time limit.
-50>

Another area of concern was the situation in Southern Africa. At the request of the Frontline States, a Plenary meeting of the Non-Aligned Countries was convened at UNESCO House, Paris, on 29 April 1983 to consider the question of the proposed sale of Marconi Radar equipment by the Government of the the United Kingdom to South Africa. The meeting adopted a Communique on the subject.

A meeting of the Coordinating Bureau, held on 28 June 1983 was devoted to the situation in South Africa, at which representatives of the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania made statements, informing the Movement of South Africa's latest acts of aggression and provocation. This meeting also adopted a Communique on the situation in South Africa. At the Plenary meeting of NonAligned countries held in New York on 12 September 1983 the representative of Lesotho informed the Movement of recent developments between Lesotho and South Africa. The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Mr. Robert Mugabe, addressed the Coordinating Bureau in New York at a special meeting on 22 September regarding the situation in Southern Africa and other important issues. Another meeting of the Bureau was held on 14 November 1983 in which the representative of Sierra Leone made a statement, in his capacity as Chairman of the African Group at the UN, informing the members of the moves of the racist regime of South Africa to impose a new racist constitution.

The Movement has been particularly active in the context of the question of Namibia. This included high-level participation on the part of several Non-Aligned countries at the International Conference in support of the struggle of the Namibian People for Independence, held at UNESCO House in Paris from 25 to 29 April 1983. The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri A.A. Rahim, addressed the Conference in his capacity as Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Movement.

At a Plenary meeting of Non-Aligned countries held on 4 August 1983 the Movement addressed itself to the proclamation by South Africa of a so-called "State Council" in Namibia, which has been established in order to prepare a "Constitution" for the territory, in violation of relevant UN resolution. The meeting also issued a Communique on the subject.

The Minister of External Affairs, Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, opened the debate in the Securlty Council in May 1983 on the question of Namibia, on behalf of the Non-Aligned countries. A large number of Ministers from Non-Aligned countries personally attended this meeting, on the basis of a mandate given by the Seventh Summit.

Special emissaries of the Chairperson were also sent to Iran and Iraq in pursuance of the mandate given to the Chairperson of the Movement to take appropriate action in respect of the Iran- Iraq conflict.
-51>
The Non-Aligned countries also kept under review the increasingly tense situation in Central America. The Coordinating Bureau heard statements from the reprsentative of Nicaragua regarding latest developments in that region at its meetings of 14 April, 4 May, 27 July, and 28 November 1983 held in New York, Following the meetings held on 14 April and 27 July the Bureau also adopted a Communique on the subject. The situation in Central America was also on the agenda of a Plenary meeting held on 12 September 1983.

The Coordinating Bureau of the Movement discussed the developments in Grenada in its meetings held on 26 and 28 October 1983 and adopted a Communique.

A meeting of Ministers and Heads of Delegations of the Non- Aligned countries to the 38th Session of the UN General Assembly was held in New York from 4 to 7 October 1983. The meeting adopted a comprehensive Communique covering international political issues. The same meeting also deliberated on economic issues in compliance with paragraph 44 of the Economic Declaration of the New Delhi Summit and included an economic part to the Communique covering the main areas of concern relating to the three-pronged strategy in relation to the 38th Session of the UN General Assembly.

A commemorative meeting was held on 19 September 1983 to observe the Day of Non-Alignment.

The Chairperson of the Movement, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had been given a mandate by the Seventh Summit to take action, as deemed appropriate, on the modalities for organising the necessary political support for the successful negotiation of global economic issues through high-level meetings with leaders of the developed countries.

With regard to certain specific proposals put forward in this regard at the Summit, an informal Ministerial Meeting was convened at New Delhi from 29 to 30 April 1983 where the strategy for discussions with developed countries on international economic issues was considered. In pursuance of the decision taken at the meeting, Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi personally addressed letters to the leaders of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) through President Honccker of the German Democratic Republic on these issues, Similarily, the Minister of External Affairs, Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, wrote to the Secretary General of OECD.

The Minister of External Affairs, in response to a request made by the UN Secretary-General on the subject of obtaining full support of the developing countries to the launching of the Long- Term Financing System for Science and Technology for Development, addressed letters to all the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Movement requesting that the concerned Governments give attention, on a priority
-52>
basis, to this important matter, affirmative of the importance that the Non-Aligned countries attached to cooperation in Science and Technology and their readiness to contribute to the financing systems.
India was invited as Chairperson of the, Non-Aligned Movement to the UN sponsored International Conference on the Alliance between South Africa and Israel held in Vienna from 11 to 13 July 1983 and was elected its Rapporteur. The Indian delegation drew attention to the relevant extracts from the Declaration of the 7th Non-Aligned Summit, recalled India's anti-apartheid struggle emanating from pre-independence days, and underlined the new that to world peace posed by the capabilities of and the collaboration between Israel and South Africa in the field of Nuclear Weapons.

As Chairperson of the Movement, India participated in the second Inter-governmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee (IFCC) Meeting in Tunis, held in September 1983.

The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, in pursuance of the Economic Declaration of the Seventh Summit, convened meetings of the Ministers of Health on 4 May 1983 in Geneva, in the context of the meeting of the World Health Assembly. Similarly, the Ministers of Labour of the Non-Aligned Countries met on 14 June 1983 in Geneva. A Conference of member State of the Movement on Small Island Developing Countries was held in Grenada from 13 to 16 September 1983.

A meeting of Ministers of Education and Culture of Non-Aligned countries was held in Pyongyang from 24 to 28 September 1983. The Conference was attended by delegations of 77 countries and 20 international organisations and inaugurated by the Indian Minister of State for Education, Culture and Social Welfare, Smt, Shiela Kaul. The Indian delegation played a very active part in the conference which adopted a Declaration and an Action Programme.

In accordance with the Summit Declaration, a meeting of Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned countries met in Jakarta from 26 to 30 January 1984.


An international Seminar of Non-Aligned countries on Training of Sports Cadres will be held at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, from 5 to 18 March 1984.

The Group of Coordinating Countries in the field of Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes, set up under the Action Programme for Economic Cooperation adopted by the New Delhi Summit, met in Havana from 12 to 14 April 1983 while the meeting of the coordinating countries, on Standardisation, Weights and Measures was held in Rome on 4 and 5 July 1983. The Coordinating Group on Housing met in Colombo from 25 to 27 October 1983.
-53>
Several Plenary meetings of the Non-Aligned countries were held in New York with a view to finalising the Draft Statute for the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting took place in New Delhi from 23 to 29 November 1983. 42 out of 44 full Members of the Commonwealth participated in the Meeting; 34 at the level of President of Prime Minister. It was thus the largest Summit Meeting in Commonwealth history. A majority of the Commonwealth members were Non-Aligned nations. A few belonged to the industrial North, and to military alliances. There was great diversity in their size, population, and stages of development. It was, therefore, natural that this gathering represented a kaleidoscope of the world's concerns and problems.

The Summit's attention was focussed on a few important issues; the tense world political scene and the nuclear threat, the difficult global economic situation, and the need for North-South Dialogue and specific issues as the independence of Namibia, and the developments in Grenada and Cyprus. In her opening statement at CHOGM, the Prime Minister outlined the major problems of peace and security, disarmament and development and called upon the Commonwealth to be clear in its objectives but responsive to changing situations in dealing with the world problems through dialogue.

There was a large measure of agreement on important issues. The Conference adopted the "Goa Declaration on International Security", the "New Delhi Statement on Economic Action" and the "Final Communique". India's views on important issues were adequately reflected in the CHOGM documents.

During the period under review, India played host to two major international events-the 7th Non-Aligned Summit, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. These events have raised the country's prestige abroad and in the comity of nations.
International Law : Developments and Activities
During 1983, the International Law Commission considered all the topics on its current programme. The Commission gave a preliminary consideration to the first comprehensive draft of a convention on the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses prepared by the Special Rapporteur on the topic, Mr. Jens Evensen. The Commission also considered other topics such as State Responsibility, Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property, Status of the Diplomatic Courier and the Diplomatic Bag not accompanied by Diplomatic Courier,
-54>
Draft code of offences against Peace and Security of Mankind, and Relations between States and International Organizations (second part of the topic), While maintaining the general objectives and priorities determined during its 34th (1982) Session the Commission took the position that it will keep open the question whether greater progress can be made at its future sessions in regard to certain topics on the current programme, taking into account the resolutions of the General Assembly, the state of progress on a given topic and other practical considerations. The General Assembly, at its 38th session, has recommended that the Commission should continue its work on all the topics in its current programme.

The Preparatory Commission for the International Sea-bed Authority and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, established pursuant to Resolution No. 1 of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea adopted on 30 April 1982 held its First Session in Jamaica from 15 March to 8 April 1983. 99 Member countries of the Commission and 17 Observers attended the Session. India also participated in the work of the Commission.

The Preparatory Commission is required to make practical arrangements for the setting up of the International Sea-bed Authority and for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which have been established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is also called upon to prepare draft rules, regulations and procedures of the International Sea-bed Authority and its various organs. It is further responsible for the implementation of the Resolution governing preparatory investments in pioneer activities relating to polymetallic nodules.

At its resumed first Session held in Kingston Jamaica, from 15 August to 9 September 1983 the Preparatory Commission established its organisational structure consisting of the Plenary as the principal organ and four Special Commissions of equal status which were allocated their respective functions. Officers were elected for the Bureau of the Plenary and the Special Commissions. The Bureau of the Plenary consists of a Chairman, 14 Vice-Chairmen and a Rapporteur General. India was elected a Vice- Chairman of the Plenary. A Chairman and four Vice-Chairmen for each of the Special Commissions were also, elected. The Rules of Procedure of the Preparatory Commission including those relating, to decision-making were adopted.

Of particular interest to India was the adoption by the Preparatory Commission of procedures and guidelines for registration of pioneer investors in accordance with Resolution 11 of the Third United Nations, Conference on the Law of the Sea. Under these procedures and guidelines a pioneer investor State named in Resolution II, which is a signatory to the Convention, may submit an application to the PREPCOM for registration which will be recorded and acknowledged by the Secretary-General. The document containing procedures and guidelines sets out the contents and data required to be included in the application, and procedures for examination and registration of the applications and allocation of sites to the pioneer investors and the Enterprise.
-55>
However, pending the adoption of the Rules of Procedure, applications submitted in accordance with Resolution 11 shall be recorded and the particulars so recorded shall be circulated to all participants of the Preparatory Commission. Before the document on procedures and guidelines was adopted, the Chairman of the PREPCOM made a statement to the effect that the elaboration and adoption of rules, regulations and procedures for the implementation of Resolution II shall be considered as a matter of high priority by the Preparatory Commission at its next session.

The Special Commissions held their first meetings and requested the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to prepare, before the next Session of the PREPCOM, working papers and background papets on the subjects allocated to the Special Commissions, so as to enable them to expeditiously carry out their functions. The next Session of the Preparatory Commission will be held in Kingston, Jamaica, in March April 1984.

India continued to participate in the deliberations of the Legal Sub-Committee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The Sub-Committee held its twenty-second session in New York from 21 March to 8 April 1983 and continued discussions on draft principles regarding remote sensing of the earth from Outer Space, the possibility of supplementing the norms of international law relevant to the use of nuclear power sources in Outer Space, the definition of Outer Space and questions relating to geostationary orbit.

For several years, the Legal Sub-Committee has been working on legal principles relating to remote sensing to meet the concerns of States regarding their being "sensed" without their permission and as to whether and on what basis the data so obtained would be made available to themselves and other States.

The five draft principles which engendered the most discussion at the twentysecond session related to : (i) A State's responsibility for all remote sensing activities whether carried out by government or non-government agencies; (ii) Prior notification to sensed States of proposed sensing activities, (iii) Prior consultation, if requested, with a State whose territory was to be sensed; (iv) Provision to a sensed State of preliminary information, final results and conclusions relating to the natural resources, the territorial sea and maritime areas under its jurisdiction; and (v) Preventing sensing States from disseminating information, results or conclusions relating to a sensed State's natural resources without approval of the sensed State.
No progress could be achieved on any of these controversial texts.
On the question of nuclear power sources in Outer Space, discussions in the Working Group concentrated on the format and procedure of notification. Agreement had been reached previously with regard to the contents of such notification. The Working Group agreed that information in any notification should include data on 2 EA/83-9
-56>
the system parameters, such as the name of launching State or States, the address of the authority which might be contacted for additional information or assistance in case of accident, international designation, date and territory or location of launch, and information required for best prediction of orbit life-time, trajectory and impact region and general functions of space craft. Information should also be included on the radiological risk of nuclear power sources including type of nuclear power source and the probable physical form, amount and general radiological characteristics of the fuel and contaminated and or activated components likely to reach the ground. All data should also be transmitted to the Secretary-General of the UN.

In considering a definition of Outer Space, the Sub-Commitee discussed whether or not nations should agree on a particular altitude or degree of atmospheric density as the point at which, for legal purposes Outer Space would be divided from 'air space'. Another approach advocated by France and others could be to forgo a definition of Outer Space and instead define 'space activities'.

The Sub-Committee also debated matters related to the geostationary orbit-located 22,300 miles directly above the equator and the only orbit capable of providing continuous contact with ground stations via a single satellite. Because of problems of interference between too-closely spaced radio frequencies, the orbit can be occupied by only a limited number of satellities at any one time. Concern has been expressed regarding over-crowding and space available for nations that have yet to develop or obtain the necessary technology. Many nations; felt that since the geostationary orbit was a limited resource, it should be regulated on an equitable basis taking into account the needs of the developing countries.

The Sixteenth Session of the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was held in Vienna from 24 May to 3 June 1983. India has been a member of this Commission since the beginning and has played an important role in the codification of law relating to international trade. At this Session the Commission concluded the discussion and adopted the draft rules on contract clauses relating to damages and penalty upon failure of performance in international sale of goods. The rules provide that the parties have the freedom to stipulate an agreed sum as a penalty or as compensation upon the failure of performance by either party. The agreed sum shall not be reduced by a court or arbitral tribunal unless the agreed sum is substantially disproportionate in relation to the loss that has been suffered by the obligee. The Commission also considered and took note of the progress reports relating to other subjects, viz, international payments, international commercial arbitration and New International Economic Order.

India was invited to the second session of the Special Commission of the Hague Conference on Private International Law which is engaged in the task of codifying rules relating to conflict of laws applicable to contracts for the international sale of goods. The Special Commission completed the drafting of the Convention on the
-57>
subject. The draft was adopted by consensus. The Hague Conference will now call a diplomatic/plenipotentiary conference to discuss and adopt the draft in the form of the convention on the above subject. This draft convention, when adopted, will fill a gap in the law relating to international sale of goods.

At the 38th Session of the UN General Assembly, the Sixth Committee considered the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Drafting of an International Covention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries on the work of its third session (A/38/43) -agenda item 129. The Ad Hoc Committee consists of 35 members, including India. Most of the developing countries, who are the primary vicims of the activities of mercenaries, supported the early conclusion of a comprehen sive convention in which the definition of a mercenary, contained in Article 47, paragraph 2, of Additional Protocol 1 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, could be expanded to include contexts other than that of international armed conflict. They also referred to the usefulness of other criteria for establishing a definition of mercenary, such as the methods of the mercenary's recruitment, the activities aimed at and nationality other than that of the target country. They emphasized that such a Convention should also include clear provisions on State responsibility and reparation or damages.

On the other hand, the Western countries, including the United States, stressed the usefulness of the definition of "mercenary" contained in Article 47, paragraph 2, of Additional Protocol 1 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and did not consider it necessary to establish a distinction between international and non- international armed conflicts. In their view, it was important to include in the definitio the criterion of direct participation in an agreed prohibited category of offences for finding a mercenary guilty. The future convention should contain a special provision reaffirming the right of a mercenary to fundamental guarantees when captured so that he could not be executed or punished without due process of law. With regard to the responsibility of States, they considered it essential to adhere to the general principles of international law existing on the subject and opposed in this connection the concept of reparation or damages. The Socialist countries supported the viewpoint of the developing countries. However, all those who spoke supported renewal of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee.

On 1 December 1983 the Sixth Committee adopted draft resolution A/C/.6/38/L.5, as orally revised by consensus. On 19 December the General Assembly adopted the draft resolution on the subject recommended by the Sixth Committee by consensus. Under that resolution, the Ad Hoc Committee shall continue its work, with the goal of drafting, at the earliest possible date, an international convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries. The General Assembly requested the Ad Hoc Committee to make every effort to complete its mandate at the next session. The General Assembly further decided to include the item in the agenda of its 39th (1984) Session.
-58>


At the 38th Session of the General Assembly the Sixth Committee considered the report of the Secretary-General called for under General Assembly resolution 36/109 of 10 December 1981 and its addenda containing the communications received from Governments and intergovernmental organizations on measures to prevent international terrorism-agenda item 123. The discussion in the Sixth Committee on the report of the Secretary-General evinced keen interest of delegations in the context of the outrageous act of violence at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Rangoon on 9 October 1983 which resulted in the loss of precious lives of so many dignitaries of the Republic of Korea, including the Foreign Minister H. E. Mr. Lee Bum Suk. Several delegations, including India, made statements which specifically referred to the Rangoon incident. After careful and intensive negotiations among concerned delegations, including India, the Sixth Committee succeeded in its efforts to adopt a non-controversial resolution on the subject by consensus. This resolution avoids reference to any specific incident of terrorism, much less condemning any country. It deeply deplores the loss of innocent human lives and the pernicious impact of acts of international terrorism on triendly relations, among States as well as on international cooperation, including cooperation for development. The resolution urges all States unilaterally and in cooperation with other States as well as relevant UN organs, to contribute to the progressive elimination of the causes underlying international terrorism. It urges States to cooperate with one another, more closely, especially through exchange of relevant information concerning the apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators of such acts. It further calls upon all States to fulfil their obligations under international law to, refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating in acts of civil strife or terrorist acts in another State. The resolution appeals to all States which have not yet done so to consider becoming parties to the existing international conventions relating to various aspects of the problem of international terrorism, and calls upon them to observe and implement the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism relating to practical measures of cooperation for the speedy elimination of the problem of international terrorism submitted in 1979. The Ad Hoc Committee consists of 35 members, including India. On 19 December 1983 the General Assembly adopted the resolution on the item recommended by the Sixth Committee by consensus and decided to include the item in the agenda of its 40th Session.

The 23rd session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC) was held in Tokyo from 16 to 20 May 1983. Four topics were taken up for substantive discussion, namely, the Law of the Sea; Optimum Utilization of the Fishary Resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone; Promotion and Protection of Investments; and Reciprocal Judicial Assistance related to Service of Process and Recording of Evidence both in Civil and Criminal Cases.

On the 'Law of the Sea', discussions in the Committee focussed on issues such as the binding nature of the Law of the Sea Convention, review of the work of the
-59>
Preparatory Commission and the possible areas in which the work of the AALCC might be contemplated for the implementation of the Convention in cooperation with the Office of the Law of the Sea in the UN Secretariat. The general consensus was that the Committee should help promote ratification of the Convention and render assistance to its member governments in regard to the Work of the Preparatory Commission and undertake studies on specific issues of practical importance to governments for the purposes of implementation of the Convention. An important issue on which the Committee's secretariat was asked to initiate work was the question of practical implementation of the provisions of the Convention in regard to the question of delimitation between States opposite or adjacent in relation to their exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. A similar study is also to be undertaken on landlocked States in regard to their right of access as also their rights and interests in the living resources of the exclusive economic zone.

With regard to the Optimum Utilization of the Fishery Resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone, the Committee took note of the model legislation on fisheries as also the model drafts of agreements related to fishing by foreign nationals in the exclusive economic zone and models of joint venture arrangements recommended by the Expert Group. It was decided that the Committee should continue its examination of the question of promoting regional or sub-regional cooperation taking into account the interests of landlocked. and geographically- disadvantaged States. The Committee's secretariat was asked to prepare some alternative models for joint venture arrangements.

On the topic of Promotion and Protection of Investments, the Committee considered the drafts of three possible models of agreements for promotion and protection of investments on bilateral basis. After general exchange of views, it was decided that the Secretary-General should continue to consult with member governments and other interested governments and institutions and thereafter decide upon convening another expert group meeting for further consideration of the texts of the model drafts. It was also decided that the Committee's secretariat should prepare a compendium on the investment agreements of the region as also a study on investment incentives. As regards the topic 'Mutual Assistance for the Service of Process, Issues of Letters Rogatory and taking of Evidence both in Civil and Criminal matters', the Committee considered drafts for model bilateral arrangements one relating to civil or commercial matters and the other for issue of letters, rogatory in criminal cases. It was decided that the Secretariat of the Committee should invite comments from member govornments on the two drafts of model arrangements and submit them before the next session of the Committee with a view to the making of final recommendations.

It may be mentioned that four other topics were taken up for preliminary discussion, namely, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the use of the Indian Ocean; Protection of the Marine Environment; Law of International Rivers; and Status and Treatment of Refugees. In addition, the work programmes of the UNCTAD and the UNCITRAL were reviewed by a sub- committee during the session.
-60>
During 1983, India concluded 59 treaties and agreements of which a list is given at Appendix 1.
Elections to UN bodies and other International Institutions

During the year under review, India was elec'ed to several UN bodies and other international organisations. India was elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the years 1984-85. India was re-elected to the Governing Council of the UN Development Programme, securing the highest number of votes among the Asian candidates. India was also re-elected to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council with the highest number of votes among twelve contesting countries belonging to Category 11 which make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for international civil air navigation. The Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Shri M. M. Kohli, was elected as the First Vice-President of the 24th session of the International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly held in Montreal in September 1983. This was the first time in the 39-year history of ICAO that India was elected to the second highest office in the ICAO Assembly. India was also re-elected to the Industrial Development Board of UN Industrial Development Organization with the highest number of votes among the Asian candidates. India was also elected re-elected to the following bodies : UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UN Population Commission, UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, UN Committee for programme and coordination, FAO Committee on Food Aid Policies and Programmes, Executive Board of International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Food and Agriculture Organization Council. The election of distinguished Indians to some of the international bodies was as follows : Dr. Bal Ram Jakhar, Hon. Speaker of Lok Sabha, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Inter Parliamentary Union; Dr. M. S. Swaminathan as an Independent Chairman of the FAO Council; and Shri S. K. Das, Director-General of Meteorology, as a member of the Executive Committee of the World Meteorological Organization.
Lists of major international conferences/meetings/seminars organised by governmental/non-governmental organisations, in which India participated and of which India became a member, are at Appendices II, III and IV.
-61>


FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Top

The grave economic crisis facing the world economy, which has characterised the last few years, continued to cause deep concern during the year under review. Although the crisis has affected all countries, the worst sufferers have been the developing countries, who continue to face increasing balance of payments deficits, mounting debt burden and deteriorating terms of trade. There have been signs of recovery in a few industrialised countries. Indications, however, are that the recovery is unlikely to be sustained.

International economic issues figured prominently in a number of important gatherings during the year. The Seventh Non-Aligned Summit held in New Delhi put forward constructive proposals for dealing with the current crisis. The emphasis was on cooperation and on the need for avoiding confrontation and thetoric. The major thrust of the New Delhi Economic Declaration adopted by the Summit was to suggest a parallel strategy comprising both immediate measures as well as fundamental structural changes. It suggested a three-pronged approach consisting of;
-- Global Negotiations for a comprehensive restructuring of international economic relations;
-- A Programme of Immediate Measures including an International Conferance on Money and Finance for Development with universal participation; and -- A renewed commitment to the strengthening of Collective Self- reliance.

The developing countries have been pressing for quite some time for Global Negotiations aimed at restructuring international economic relations. Although there is agreement in principle on the launching of Global Negotiations, it has not yet proved possible to overcome the procedural hurdles which relate mainly to the question of the competence of existing institutions. In an effort to break this deadlock the Non-Aligned Summit suggested a new approach for launching the negotiations, in two phases. It was proposed that issues which do not raise the question of competence be taken up in the first phase and simultaneously efforts be made to resolve the procedural problems so that negotiations on other issues can begin in the second phase. There were intensive informal consultations during the 38th Session of the UN General
-62>
Assembly in an effort to break the deadlock. The discussions, however, remained inconclusive and are to be resumed during 1984.

The Non-Aligned Summit took the view that while discussions' continued on the launching of Global Negotiations, there were some grave problems facing the world economy, particularly the developing countries, which required urgent action. To this end the NAM Summit proposed a Programme of Immediate Measures in areas of critical importance to developing countries, viz. money and finance, trade, raw materials, energy and food. The basic objective of the proposed programme was to bring about an early recovery in the world economy with particular emphasis on the reactivation of the development process in developing countries.

Although the approach suggested at the Non-Aligned Summit was widely recognised as reasonable, there was little positive response to the NAM proposals and the virtual stalemate in the so-called 'North-South Dialogue' continued. The general approach of the NAM Summit was welcomed by the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 held in Buenos Aires in April 1983, which put forward specific proposals for negotiations at UNCTAD VI in Belgrade in June 1983. The results achieved at UNCTAD VI, however, were very disappointing. While a large number of resolutions were adopted, mostly reiterating earlier decisions, there was no significant advance in any of the areas of vital concern to developing countries. More recent events have shown that there has been a slide-back in a number of important areas. For example, it has not so far proved possible to reach agreement on the seventh replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA VII) at a level higher than $ 9 billion as against the level of $ 12 billion for IDA VI. At the meeting of the Interim Committee of the IMF held in September 1983 a retrograde decision was taken to reduce the access to IMF funds. These are serious set-backs which particularly affect the poorest developing countries at a time when they are facing their gravest crisis.

Considerable interest has been aroused by the NAM Summit proposal for an International Conference on Money and Finance for Development. Many developed countries have also taken the view that the time has come for a review of the international monetary and financial system which was established nearly 40 years ago. Proposals for an international monetary conference were put forward by President Mitterrand of France and Prime Minister Muldoon of New Zealand. The Williams burg Summit of the leading industrialised nations held in May 1983 decided to initiate a study of the international monetary system by Finance Ministers and the part which might in due course be played in this process by a high-level international monetary conference. A preparatory process has begun within the Non-Aligned Movement. India, in its capacity as the Chairman, established a Group of Five Experts comprising Algeria, India, Mexico, Tanzania and Yugoslavia for a thorough examination of the various aspects of the NAM proposal. The Group held its first meeting in New Delhi
-63>
from 2 to 5 December 1983. It had a detailed discussion on the deficiencies of the present system, possible ways of overcoming them and the modalities of the proposed conference. The Group is expected to hold two more meetings and finalise its report by May 1984.

International economic issues also figured prominently at the Summit-level discussions held in New York in September 1983 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi and at CHOGM in New Delhi in November 1983. The New York Summit focussed on the economic difficulties facing all countries and on the urgency of dealing with the current crisis. There were wide- ranging discussions on matters of common interest, taking into account the reality of interdependence between the industrialised and developing countries. Everyone agreed that the informal exchanges had proved very useful and that the momentum generated by the New York dialogue should be maintained.

The discussions at CHOGM centred mainly round the question of the reform of the existing institutions, based on the report of the Commonwealth Expert Group entitled "Towards a New Bretton Woods". The meeting addpted a New Delhi Statement on Economic Action which recognised the need both for immediate measures to deal with the current economic crisis as well as with long-term structural problems. The meeting decided to establish a Commonwealth Consultative Group consisting of eight countries, viz. Britain, Canada, Fiji, India, New Zealand, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago and Zimbabwe, for the purpose of promoting a consensus on the issues covered by the Statement. The Statement noted the various proposals relating to the monetary and financial system including the NAM proposal for an International Conference on Money and Finance for Development. It affirmed the widespread belief that it would be necessary to discuss the issues relating to money and finance at an international conference with universal participation. It also recognised that the present institutions must develop and adopt to the conditions of the 1980s and beyond.

Increasing attention continued to be paid to greater cooperation among developing countries both in the Non-Aligned Movement and in the Group of 77. The Non-Aligned Summit adopted a Declaration on Collective Self-reliance, in which the Heads of State1 Government undertook a pledge to impart a fresh impetus to collective self-reliance and to mobilise all necessary resources and deploy the requisite means in support of sub-regional, regional and inter-regional cooperation among Non-Aligned and other developing countries. The Summit also adopted a detailed action programme for economic cooperation. This matter figured prominently in the ministerial-level meetings of NAM and Group . of 77. These meetings provided an occasion for a review of the on-going programmes and for giving policy guidelines for the future.

Work continued during the year on the follow-up of the Caracas Programme of Action for Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries. A number of sectoral meetings took place in the field of technical cooperation among developing countries, 2 EA/83-10
-64>
energy, industrialisation and finance. The reports of these meetings were considered by the Inter-Governmental Follow-up and Coordination Committee which met in Tunis in September 1983. One of the important initiatives taken under the Caracas Programme in which progress has been made is the establishment of a Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) for which negotiations have started. About 40 developing countries have so far signified their willingness to join the negotiations.

A historic step was taken during the year under review towards South Asian Regional Cooperation. The Foreign Ministers of the seven South Asian countries held their first meeting in New Delhi in August 1983 and adopted the SARC Declaration setting out the broad objectives and principles of South Asian Regional Cooperation and incorporating provisions regarding institutional and financing arrangements. A Standing Committee was established at the level of Foreign Secretaries for coordination and monitoring. Nine Technical Committees were established which will be responsible for the implementation, coordination and monitoring of the programmes of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, rural development, telecommunications, meteorology, health & population, postal services, transport services, science & technology and sports, arts & culture. It was also decided to continue cooperation among the National Planning Organisations and academic institutions of the countries of the region.

Intensive work has begun at the technical level for the implementation of the agreed programmes of cooperation within the SARC framework. The various Technical Committees held their meetings during the period October 1983 to January 1984 and their reports were considered by the Standing Committee of Foreign Secretaries at a meeting held in New Delhi at the end of February 1984. There will be a meeting of Foreign Ministers in July 1984 in the Maldives.

The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), which has been in operation since 1964, continued to play an increasing role in promoting India's economic relations with other developing countries. Starting with a modest annual outlay of Rs. 4.46 lakhs, the programme has grown substantially over the years. The amount earmarked for ITEC during the period under review was Rs. 7.13 crores.

The ITEC programme provides for training facilities in India for nationals of other developing countries, deputation of Indian experts to those countries on short-and long-term assignments, feasibility studies and techno-economic surveys in other developing countries, consultancy services, undertaking of special projects, and gifts in certain circumstances. It is also designed to assist foreign dignitaries in the economic and technical fields to receive an exposure to India in those fields.

During the year 1983-84 over 800 slots were earmarked for the training of nominees of several developing countries. Over 700 Indian experts have been deputed on long-term assignments to various developing countries since the inception of the
-65>
ITEC Programme and over 50 during the current year. The main beneficiaries during 1983-84 were Mauritius, Zambia, and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). To Mauritius alone 17 short-term and long-term experts in sugar technology and engineering were seconded in 1983-84. ITEC assistance was extended this year to the Economic Commission for Africa in the form of equipment and to certain countries, in the form of sports goods, musical instruments, dental equipment, electrical equipment, agricultural equipment, miscellaneous educational equipment and wheat and tomato seeds. Nigeria, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, PDRY, Sudan, Malawi and Tanzania were the main recipients. In addition, six serious cardiac patients from Mauritius were successfully treated in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences under this programme during the year.

An emergency team of Indian experts visited the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) to survey the earthquake-devastated area, as a follow-up to which two Indian experts are being deputed there to advise on the rehabilitation and re-construction programme.

Consultancy services were provided and feasibility studies undertaken in several countries. Consultancy services in pharmaceuticals, battery cells (dry), accumulator battery cells manufacture and gypsum panels were provided to PDRY. Similarly, consultancy services worth approximately Rs. 6 lakhs were provided to Tanzania for setting up village workshops. Feasibility studies for modernisation of -the airport, setting up of a small-scale industrial centre and of a State Trading Corporation in Mauritius were conducted by the international Airports Authority of India, NSIC and STC respectively. A feasibility study team in respect of small-scale industries was deputed to Botswana. A techno-economic feasibility study pertaining to rail connections at Bassar (Togo) has recently been completed by RITES. A feasibility study for setting up a workshop for repairs and maintenance of transport in PDRY was done.

A number of delegations of an economic nature visited India from Mauritius, Maldives, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria during the period under review.

Apart from training facilities under ITEC, India also extended assistance to a number of African and Asian countries for the recruitment of doctors, engineers, school-teachers, professors and other professionals on a bilateral basis. Among the countries so assisted were Mauritius, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Iran, PDRY and YAR.
-66>


POLICY PLANNING

Top

The Policy Planning & Review Division, consisting of a corps, of foreign service and research cadre officers and with supporting staff and facilities including a modern library, continued to function under the overall guidance of the Foreign Secretary and the supervision of an Additional Secretary.

During the year under review, the Policy Planning & Review Division prepared background papers and briefs for the 7th Non- Aligned Summit, the Conference of Indian Heads of Mission in South Asian Countries held in New Delhi from 27 to 30 July 1983 asd the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in New Delhi from 24 to 29 November 1983. In addition to this work, the Division prepared about dozens of policy papers and background notes on various topics relating to the external relations of India. The Division interacted with other Divisions in the Ministry as well as with other Ministries and Departments in order to cover all aspects as well as to impart multiple perspective to the studies. As in the past, several such studies were circulated to Missions abroad and Territorial Divisions of the Ministry as well as to other concerned departments and agencies of the Gover nment.

The officers of the Division took part in various, seminars relating to India's foreign policy as well as to international affairs. Particular mention may be made of the seminar on the Non-Aligned Movement organised at Hyderabad and Bombay by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Chandigarh; the seminar on Disarmament which the UN Division and this Division co-hosted along with the UN Centre for Disarmament in New Delhi; and the seminar on long-term relations, between India and Indo-China organised in New Delhi by the Indian Centre for Studies on Indo-China, New Delhi. These seminars served to clarify and heighten awareness of the various issues involved in these matters. The Division continued to maintain contact with Area Studies Centres of various universities where scholars are involved in research and study of international affairs. Scholars and other experts were invited to the Ministry for discussions, while visiting Indian Ambassadors were requested to hold discussion with officers of the Division.

Several studies commissioned during the last year have been completed or are expected to be ready shortly.
As in earlier years, the Division coordinated the work relating to the Annual Report of the Ministry.
-67>


EXTERNAL PUBLICITY

Top

In the context of the request made to India to host the 7th Non-Aligned Summit in March 1983 in New Delhi, the subsequent assumption by India of the Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) with its attendant responsibilities, and additionally the obligations assumed by India in terms of the decisions of the Common-wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in November 1983 in New Delhi, India undertook a variety of foreign policy initiatives during the year under review which were designed to promote a just international political, economic and information order. The External Publicity (XP) Division provided the requisite publicity and public relations support in this regard.

India's participation in the informal consultations at Summit level in New York in September 1983, and the visits of the President and the Prime Minister of India abroad, were utilised by the Division to project not only India's views but the aspirations of the developing countries in general towards securing a New World Order. In this regard India's contribution and capability, in cooperation with other developing countries, was highlighted. Efforts were also made to project India's firm commitment to democracy, non-alignment and world peace, peaceful use of nuclear energy and Outer Space, moral and material commitment against apartheid and in support of majority rule in Namibia and support for the Palestinian cause.

The External Publicity Division continued to be closely involved in promoting a New International Information Order, both within the forum of the Non-Aligned Movement and in other fora like the United Nations and UNESCO.

An additional dimension was added to the work of the External Publicity Division when the Joint Secretary in charge of it was designated as the nodal point for coordinating the promotion of sports, arts and culture among the South Asian Regional Cooperation (SARC) countries.
During the year special attention was paid to the following:
(a) Organisation of publicity arrangements for the 7th Non- Aligned Summit and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1983.
(b) Improvement of the production values of the principal organ of publicity of the Ministry, the colour fortnightly, Indian and Foreign Review.
-68>
(c) Augmentation of the printing capacity of the External Publicity Division.
(d) Maintenance of a steady supply of visual material, particularly good documentaries, colour photographs and transparencies, to augment and improve the stock of such material in our Missions abroad.
(e) Provision of help to our Missions and Posts abroad who organised special shows of Richard Attenborough's film on Mahatma Gandhi.
Seventh NAM Summit

The External Publicity Division collaborated with the PIB in setting up the required media facilities at Palam airport, designated hotels and the Media Centre at Vigyan Bhavan to cater to the 1733 correspondents (1024 visiting correspondents, 59 India based Indian journalists working for foreign papers, 150 foreign correspondents based in India and 500 Indian journalists). A briefing room was organised in the Vigyan Bhavan Annexe with simultaneous translation facilities in French, Spanish and Arabic, and frequent daily briefings were given throughout the period 1-12 March 1983. XP Division helped the Directorate of Audio-Visual Publicity to organise in one of the foyers of Vigyan Bhavan an exhibition of photographs, on earlier NAM Summits, the Asian Relations Conference, the Bandung Conference and the Brioni Meeting. The Division also prepared suitable literature highlighting India's progress and role in the Non-Aligned Movement, which was included in the Press Kit presented to the correspondents. A one-hour long documentary on the 7th NAM Summit was produced by the Films Division with assistance and help from XP Division. The publicity arrangements described above evoked high praise in the media, both abroad and in India.
CHOGM 83
In collaboration with PIB, the XP Division provided media facilities similar to those provided at the 7th NAM Summit, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at the following places: Palam Airport, designated hotels in which visiting media personnel stayed, and at the Media Centre at Vigyan Bhavan, which catered to 1129 media personnel (visiting foreign correspondents 419, India based journalists working for foreign papers 49, foreign correspondents based in India 79, Indian journalists 582). The Joint Secretary (XP), who was a member of the Publicity Committee, apart from assisting the staff of the Information Directorate of the Commonwealth Secretariat both at New Delhi and at Goa, held special briefings during the Conference for Indian media. A set of 12 brochures, Land and People, How We Govern Ourselves, India and Non-Alignment, The Economy, Agriculture, Industrial Development, Energy, Science and Technology, Human Settlements, Social Development and Rural Welfare. The New 20-Point Programme and The Media Scene, were published by the XP Division and presented to Heads of Delegations. The XP Division also published a pamphlet
-69>
on "Panchsheel : The Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence" by Dr. Mulk Raj Anand and Shri B. R. Nanda, which was also supplied to Heads of Delegations. In addition, delegates were provided with general information brochures on India. These publicity arrangements were commended by the media both abroad and in India.
Printing

The External Publicity Division continued to bring out the following regular publications :
(1) Indian & Foreign Review-fortnightly colour magazine.
(2) Courrier de L'Inde--fortnightly in French.
(3) Foreign Affairs Record-monthly.

The visual quality and editorial content of Indian and Foreign Review were up graded substantially. The fortnightly is being printed on art paper with an increased number of colour illustrations. A drive to enrol more subscribers has started.
As regards occasional publications 28 booklets on important pronouncements by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister on foreign policy matters, India's scientific and cultural advancement and India's economic progress have been brought out by the XP Division.
Transmission
The External Publicity Division continued to keep our Missions informed of matters of contemporary interest in India's relations with other countries as well as on important political, economic, scientific and technological developments in India through twice- daily transmissions covering important foreign policy statements by the Government. 27 Missions received these transmissions through the Overseas Communications Service (OCS); eight Missions in North and South America received them through Satellite, and 27 through PTI links with foreign news, agencies, 39 Missions received bi-weekly telexes, five Missions were covered by bi- weekly press cables, and 44 Missions received cyclostyled copies of transmissions by diplomatic bag.

Visiting Journalists
The Division continued to organise visits of journalists, from abroad, with a view to projecting developments in India in full and correct perspective. During the nine-month period ending December 1983, 41 journalists visited India as guests of the
-70>
Government (21 availed partial hospitality and 20 full hospitality). Another 3,322 journalists who visited India on their own, or accompanied foreign VVIPs on State visits to India, were accorded necessary assistance during their stay here (1,733 correspondents covered the 7th NAM Summit, 17 accompanied the US Secretary of State, George Shultz, 22 came with the FRG Chancellor, 55 accompanied the British Queen, 1129 correspondents attended CHOGM 83 and the number of delegates for the NAMEDIA Conference was 220). 58 television photographic teams visited India for making documentaries till December 1983 and 27 are expected to come by March 1984.
Audio-Visual Publicity

During the year under review 567 prints of a number of documentaries produced by the Films Division were sent to Missions abroad. These depicted items such as various aspects of India's industrial development, cultural heritage and places of tourist interest. "Indian Industry Comes of Age" was purchased from its Producers, Shri Rajbans Khanna, for circulation to Missions.

Forty prints of feature films were supplied, in addition to the films already in circulation, to our Missions abroad.
Films were supplied for 7 film festivals/film weeks to Alexandria, Panama City, Brussels, Belgrade, Copenhagen, Niger and Manila. During the President's visit to Prague, Doha and Bahrain and the Prime Minister's visit to Oslo, Belgrade, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Vienna, Nicosia, Athens, Paris and New York, documentaries were sent to these Missions for suitable telecasting in the local television media in these countries.

The film on Mahatma Gandhi by Richard Attenborough made an astonishing impact in various parts of the world wherever it was screened. Many of our Heads of Mission organised suitable special shows of the film and distributed literature on Mahatma Gandhi and also, alongwith their colleagues, took part in seminars1 symposia and radio and TV programmes on Gandhiji's contribution to civilisation. The External Publicity Division gave them full support.
Our Missions have been supplied 11,000 black and white photographs, 267 colour transparencies and 424 colour photographs upto mid-December 1983. Our Mission in Os1o was assisted in holding a photographic exhibition on Jawaharlal Nehru, and the photographic exhibition, "India Today", which has been under circulation to various Missions abroad, was exhibited during the year at Beijing, San Francisco, Hanoi, Dhaka and New York. The External Publicity Division also assisted our Mission in Doha to hold a photographic exhibition highlighting India's Islamic heritage.
-71>
News Agencies and Feature Agencies
The Division has subsidised the location of Indian correspondents belonging to the four Indian news agencies in various countries since January 1980. The Division continued to subscribe to the special feature news services of news agencies and commissioned special feature articles on various aspects of development in India. The publication of special supplements on India on national occasions, such as Republic Day and Independence Day, as also on the occasions of the visits of the Prime Minister to various countries abroad, were encouraged with the cooperation of The Trade Fair Authority of India.

The news service to Indian Missions abroad, which was started last year by supplying them daily press round-ups covering reports and comments on foreign affairs in the Indian Press, was maintained. In addition another daily round-up of development news was organised during 1983-84 and supplied to them.
Special Inquiries

Special inquiries received through Indian Missions on various subjects were handled by the External Publicity Division and necessary responses information conveyed to them. A large number of Press releases were issued by the Division on events of interest to India. The World Press Review, containing comments, summaries and analyses of foreign press comments on India or of interest to India in foreign newspapers and periodicals continued to be brought out in cyclostyled form.
Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool
India sent a three-member delegation consisting of the Deputy General Manager of PTI, Shri P. Unnikrishnan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shri J. K. Bhattacharya, and Director, External Publicity Division, Shri B. B, lyer, to the 9th Coordination Committee Meeting of the News Agencies Pool of the Non-Aligned countries held in Nicosia during 1-2 June 1983. The Meeting finalised the modalities for the functioning of the Monitoring and Technical Committees of the Pool, which is expected to improve the functioning of the Pool.
Namedia Conference
The National Preparatory Committee of the "NAMEDIA-Media Conference of the Non-Aligned Countries", which met in New Delhi during 9-12 December 1983 was assisted by the External Publicity Division by helping the organisers with Conference Services and providing local hospitality to two members from each delega
-72>
tion. Local hospitality to over 100 journalists from NAM countries attending the Conference was provided. The Conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
Study Group Technical Committee Meeting on Sports, Arts and Culture of SARC Countries

At the Fourth Meeting of Foreign Secretaries of SARC countries at Dhaka on 28-30 March 1983, it was decided that India should coordinate the required regional cooperation in Sports, Arts and Culture. The External Publicity Division, which was designated by the Government as the nodal point for organising requisite action, convened a Study Group Meeting in this regard at New Delhi on 27-28 June 1983. For considering implementation of the recommendations which were endorsed by the SARC Foreign Ministers' Meeting in August 1983, the Technical Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture of SARC met in New Delhi on 13-14 January 1984.
Regional Conference on the World Disarmament Campaign

In connection with this Conference held in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi during 22-26 August 1983 help was provided to the Department of Disarmament Affairs, United Nations, New York to bring out a brochure for the Conference, to screen some films on Doordarshan as well as broadcast some talks on disarmament on AIR. In collaboration with DAVP, External Publicity Division also helped them to hold an exhibition on disarmament. The Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Jan Martenson, and Joint Secretary (XP) held a joint Press Conference at the Vigyan Bhavan on 22 August 1983. A TV interview with the UN Team of Officials was also arranged, Consequent to the help provided by the External Publicity Division, there was substantial coverage of the above meeting in all media.
-73>


CULTURAL RELATIONS

Top

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations continued to function as the principal agency for promoting India's cultural relations with foreign countries.

During the period under review, the Council received about 80 distinguished visitors in fields such as fine arts, literature, education and the sciences. They came from Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Portugal, UK, USA and USSR.

Under the programme of incoming performing arts delegations, nearly 20 troupes visited India from Cuba, France, Portugal, China, UK and USSR, The Council, in collaboration with the Institute of Romani Studies organised an International Roma (Gypsy) Festival in Chandigarh. Five troupes from various countries participated in the Festival. These troupes also performed in New Delhi. The other performing troupes besides performing in New Delhi, also staged performances in Bombay, Bangalore, Calcutta, Madras, Chandigarh and Trivandrum.

In pursuance of the policy of maintaining and promoting close and friendly relations with neighbouring countries, particularly Bhutan, the Council received the following delegations from Bhutan: (i) 12-member Officers delegation; (ii) 12-member Judicial Officers delegation; and (iii) 12-member Scholars delegation. A 12-member Women's delegation from Bhutan will come to India very soon.

As part of the cultural projection effort abroad, more than 50 visitors and 70 performing delegations were sent out to various countries. The individual visitors who were academicians, educationists, writers, poets, artists and critics, participated in conferences and seminars, delivered lectures, held exhibitions, and carried on their research. The performing delegations visited a number of countries including North America, West Asia, South-East Asia, Afghanistan, Nepal and U.K, Some of the important troupes which were sent abroad were those of Pt. Ravi Shankar to China, a 12-member Rajasthani Musicians group to Edinburgh, UK, and USSR. a 16-member Bharatiya Kala Kendra group to USSR and Poland, a 30-member Naya Theatre troupe to participate in the London International Theatre Festival, and the Dagar Brothers to USA.

The Council also received exhibitions from abroad and sent, out a number of Indian exhibitions to various countries. The Council organised an exhibition of
-74>

Czechoslovak Puppet Theatre as also an exhibition of Commonwealth Arts on the occasion of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,

In the Council's publication activity, Volume 4 of Indian Short Stories, an enlarged edition of Vision of India and a Hindi edition of the biography of Simon Bolivar were published. The quartdrly journals of the Council, namely Indian Horizons, Africa Quarterly, Rencontre avec L' Inde (French), Papeles de la India (Spanish), Thaqafatul Hind (Arabic), and Gagananchal (Hindi) were regularly published. The Council also brought out a special issue of Gagananchal on the occasion of the Viswa Hindi Sammelan, and a special number of Papels de la India on the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary Celebration of the Latin American soldier-statesman Simon Bolivar.

Under the Presentation Programme, books, art objects, Indian arte-facts, and musical instruments were sent to universities, institutions and cultural organisations of various countries. The notable objects of presentation were charkha, Indian masks and puppets and Subramaniam Bharati Calendar, which was specially printed by the Council.

The Library and the reading room in Azad Bhavan have been attracting scholars, reasearch students and readers in large numbers. The African Section of the Library maintained 117 files of press clippings on current affairs in Africa.

The Azad Memorial Lecture was instituted in 1958 to honour and commemorate the memory of the late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of the Government of India and the founder President of the Council. In 1983, it was delivered by Dr. Mohd. Hassan el-Zayyat, former Foreign Minister and the present President of the Indo-Egypt Friendship Association. The topic of his lecture was "India and Egypt: Modern Relations between two Ancient Nations".

As a mark of solidarity with the freedom fighters, South Africa Freedom Day and Namibia Day functions were observed in the Council. The Council also organised a public meeting on the occasion of the bicentennial anniversary of Simon Bolivar.

Under the scheme of maintenance of Chairs Centres of Indian Studies abroad, the Council is looking after the deputation of Indian teachers to various institutions. The Council continued to maintain one dance teacher and one tabla teacher in Trinidad. and one teacher of instrumental music at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Mauritius. The Council has also been maintaining Cultural Centres in Fiji, Guyana and Suriname. These Centres have libraries of basic books on India in English and Hindi and Indian periodicals and newspapers. These Centres also maintain a collection of books, films, slides, records and tapes of Indian music, and conduct classes on Indian music, dance and yoga.

The Council continues to oversee the activities of the foreign cultural centres in India by administering the British libraries at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Trivandrum and Hyderabad, and the House of Soviet Culture in Trivandrum, and by maintaining liaisoin with the Max Mueller Bhavans and Alliances Francaise in India.
-75>


PROTOCOL

Top

During 1983, Heads of Mission of the following 25 countries left India on the completion of their assignments: -Iceland (Resident in Reykjavik), France, USSR, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, Zaire, Laos, Romania, PLO, Jordan, Mauritius, Italy, Iraq, Canada, Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen, Cyprus,Zambia, Netherlands, Thailand, Guyana, Kampuchea, Turkey, Egypt and Panama.

In the same period Heads of Mission of the following 30 countries presented their credentials to the President of India: Czechoslovakia, France, Sudan, Morocc, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Uruguay, Kampuchea, Sweden, Peru, Austria, USSR, Zaire. New Zealand, Laos, Senegal, Philippines, Brazil, Italy. Jordan, Zambia, Canada, Iraq, Netherlands, Mauritius, Guyana, Cyprus, Thailand, Romania and Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen.

The New Zealand Government closed its Mission in New Delhi in early 1982. Later they decided to have concurrent accreditation. Their High Commissioner stationed at Willington presented his credentials on 19 April, 1983 to the President.

Senegal had its resident Mission in New Delhi till July 1980 when it was closed down due to economic constraints. The Senegal Government decided to concurrently accredit their Ambassador stationed in Tokyo, who presented his credentials on 9 May 1983 to the President.

The European Community opened its new Mission in New Delhi. Mr. Manfredo Macioti is the Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities for South Asia. He is of the rank of Ambassador and presented his credentials to our Foreign Minister on 8 June 1983.
-76>


PASSPORT, EMIGRATION AND CONSULAR SERVICES

Top

The request for issue of fresh passports and other miscellaneous passport services exceeded the all-time high figure reached in 1982. The quantum of consular services rendered by our Missions abroad and this Ministry also showed an appreciable increase. Despite increase in the workload, all passport services were rendered expeditiously within a reasonable time-bound framework. Steps were also taken to improve the quality of services rendered to the passport applicants. Our Missions abroad also strove to render prompt and courteous consular services to Indian nationals abroad.

Over 16 lakh applications for issue of fresh passports were received in Passport Offices in India during 1983, which is the highest figure recorded for any single year. the input of fresh applications increased by over five per cent compared to the previous year. While the increase in fresh applications was marginal, the increase in respect of miscellaneous passport services reflected an appreciable increase by as much as 19 per cent over the previous years, with around 9 lakh applications received during 1983 as against 7.60 lakh during 1982. Despite an overall increase in the workload, Passport Offices strove hard to ensure that output in terms of issue of passports and other miscellaneous services, was a little higher than the input of fresh applications. This led to a decline in the pendency of applications in the Passport Offices, which now stands at approximately 1.6 lakh applications at the end of 1983, which is reasonable given the average monthly input and time taken to process passport applications at various stages. The Passport Office in Bombay received the maximum number of applications, followed by Madras, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad and Jullundur. A statement showing the services rendered by each Passport Office in India is given at Appendix V.

With a view to improving the quality of passport services rendered, a number of steps were taken. The essential data with regard to the issue of passports has been computerised. This would further facilitate expeditious issue of passports to the applicants. It is also proposed to gradually introduce computerisation into other fields of passport work. It is proposed to establish computer terminal links in the Regional Passport Office, New Delhi, during 1984. Passport applicants have been provided with the facility of additional visa sheets, which will be attached to the passport booklets. With the provision of this facility, the old system of adding
-77>
passport booklets, which was cumbersome, time-consuming and unaesthetic, has been discontinued. This will assist in meeting the requirements of additional pages to the passport booklets from the applicants.

In order to provide greater satisfaction to the passport applicants and to ensure that Passport Offices are within the reach of a greater number of applicants, two new Passport Offices were opened during 1983. The Passport Offices at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh were formally inaugurated on 23 July and 29 July 1983 respectively. With the opening of these Offices, there are now 20 Passport Offices and one Passport Liaison Office in India.

All Passport Offices were given instructions toissue passport within a prescribed time span of six weeks from the date of receipt of applications. The normal time taken to issue passports varied from 4 to 7 weeks in different Passport Offices. In cases of emergency, prompt services continued to be rendered as usual to the passport applicants and the passports were issued on the same day in many cases. During this year, 985 cases of complaints regarding delay in the issue of passports were received against Passport Offices in India. The delay was due to non-compliance of prescribed formalities by the passport applicants. In all cases, Passport Offices were asked to issue passports expeditiously after completion of necessary formalities.

The Emigration Act of 1922 has been replaced by the Emigration Act of 1983. Consequently the work relating to Emigration Clearance Endorsement has been transferred to the Ministry of Labour and the same will be performed by the protectorates of Emigrants under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour, wherever they are located. In other places the work relating to Emigration Suspension Endorsement would be performed by Passport Offices. The Passport Offices would, however, continue to perform the functions of determining the status of a passport applicant, by suitably endorsing the passports, with stamps such as Emigration Check Required' or 'Emigration Clearance not Required'.

The visa fees in respect of foreign nationals were reviewed. A new visa fees schedule has been introduced with effect from 15 December 1983. The Landing Permit System remained suspended during the year 1983, With a view to ensuring that there is no disruption of work, Consular Offices in our Missions abroad were provided with additional staff to cope with increase in visa work,

During the period under review, 483 cases of deportation came to the notice of the Ministry. Indian Missions/Posts abroad repatriated 297 persons who were in distress in foreign countries. Financial assistance was extended to Indian nationals wherever necessary. Cases of 196 Indian nationals arrested in various, countries were reported to the Government. All possible consular assistance was Given to them and where possible, their release and return to India were facilitated by the Missions concerned. 192 cases of deaths of foreign nationals in India were also handled.
-78>
Five hundred ninety eight cases of death of Indian nationals abroad came to the notice of the Ministry and action was initiated to claim wage dues and death compensation for the heirs of the deceased through the Indian Missions. The procedure for payment of compensation was simplified by making arrangements with various State Governments in India for disbursement of the dues of the deceased remitted by the Indian Missions abroad through the respective District authorities.

During the period under review 1,72,581 documents submitted by the public for production to foreign authorities, were attested/authenticated by the Consular Section. Despite increase in workload, such attestation services were rendered the same day.

The Consular Manual which contains guidelines for our Missions abroad for dealing with Consular cases was revised early this year. Advance mimeographed copies have already been circulated to all the Missions abroad.
-79>


ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANISATION

Top

Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao continued as the Minister of External Affairs, and Shri A. A. Rahim as the Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs. There were changes at the level of Secretaries: Shri M. Rasgotra continued as Foreign Secretary; Shri Romesh Bhandari as Secretary (Economic Relations); and Shri K. Natwar Singh as Secretary (East) on the departure of Shri K. S. Bajpai on posting. At the level of Additional Secretaries, Shri J. R. Hiremth, Additional Secretary (Administration) left on posting in May 1983 and Shri. A. R. Deo, Additional Secretary (Americas and Africa) left on posting in September, Dr. J. S. Teja continued as Additional Secretary (UN & PPE) while Shri I. S. Chadha took over as Additional Secretary (ER) in May 1983 and Shri S. K. Bhutani as Additional Secretary (AD) in January 1984.
The total strength of the IFS and IFS(B) cadres both at Headquarters and in Missions posts abroad was 3,704. This did not include 45 research personnel and 33 officers in the Interpreters Cadre, as also locally-recruited staff of 1,517 in our Missions Posts abroad. The total staff strength is given in Appendix VI.

To project India's image abroad, safeguard its national interests and implement national policies there are 135 Missions and Posts abroad manned by 794 diplomatic officers and 1209 non- diplomatic India-based officials, apart from the 1.517 locally recruited staff.

The Cabinet approved a Cadre Review of the IFS in December 1983. The total strength of the cadre was raised from 566 posts to 568 posts for 1984 and 589 Posts for 1985 to enable the IFS, which is in charge of all aspects of India's representation abroad, to shoulder its growing responsibilities. Details of the cadre review are given in Appendix VII.

Missions and Posts in areas which assumed priority from the viewpoint of our national interests were strengthened At the same time, action continued on streamlining several Missions, and especially our Missions in Washington and London, by accelerating the removal of transferable items of work from these two Missions to offices in India.
-80>
A list detailing the number of officers who have qualified in various foreign languages is given at Appendix VIII

The Cabinet approved the establishment of a Foreign Service Training Institute. The need for such an institute has long been felt. It would be responsible for the training of IFS probationers, provide in service training to IFS officers and also provide facilities to diplomatic officers from friendly countries. The Institute is expected to become functional in 1984.

At the instructions of the Prime Minister. an Indian Missions Review Committee consisting of Shri Samar Sen as Chairman and S Shri P. K. Kaul, Abid Hussain, K. S. Bajpai as members and Shri J. R. Hiremath as member Secretary (on the departure of Shri Hiremath to Yugoslavia Shri Lalit Mansingh, Joint Secretary (Establishment) took over as member-Secretary) was appointed to examine the working of Indian Missions abroad. The Committee submitted a preliminary report in May 1983 and the final report is expected shortly. The recommendations of the Committee would be examined in the Ministry as soon as the report is available.

The Ministry continued its endeavour to streamline the administration. The rationalisation and simplification of rules relating to personnel and establishment matters was undertaken. The financial powers of our Heads of Mission were reviewed to avoid delays in references to headquarters and to speed up the disposal of cases. The horne-leave and emergency passages schemes were modified. A three-year period of postings was introduced for all officials in all Missions. The supply of material and equipment from India to Missions and Posts abroad was considerably speeded up.

The Foreign Service Inspectors inspected our Missions in Hong Kong, Seoul, tokyo, Pyongyang and Manila.

Proposals for the purchase of a Chancery building in Helsinki and Embassy Residences in Bogota, Athens and Seoul, the residence of the Assistant High Commissioner of India in Kandy and the residences of officials in Paris. London, San Francisco, Ottawa and Berne were finalised. The construction of the Chancery building in Jakarta was completed, while the construction of the Chancery building in Islamabad and the Chancery and Residence in Ankara were commenced. The construction of the Chancery in Lusaka continued to make satisfactory progress. Within India. plots ofland were acquired in Jahalpur, Bhubaneswar and Cochin for the construction of passport office

The Welfare Unit of the Ministry continued to look after the general welfare of all officials serving at headquarters and in the Indian Missions abroad. Assistance was rendered to a large number of cases in arranging admission of the children of officials serving in Missions abroad in educational institutions including Medical and Engineering Colleges. Financial assistance out of the staff benefit fund was provided
-81>
to the families of our officials in cases of prolonged illness and other unforeseen misfortunes.

India's contribution to international organisations was Rs. 2.87. crores. Its economic and technical assistance extended to Third World countries amounted to Rs. 85.415 crores.

On account of inflationary conditions, the expenditure at headquarters has risen to Rs.11.12 crores while the total expenditure on Missions was about Rs. 60 crores. Details are given in Appendices IX and X.

The Ministry took care to implement government directives on the welfare of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees. A special cell to look after their welfare continued to function. In 1983, of the 12 officers directly recruited for the Indian Foreign Service 2 belonged to the Scheduled Castes and 1 to the Scheduled Tribes. Details are given in Appendices XI and XII.

The Ministry was able to shoulder the administrative requirements of the NonAligned Summit and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. With marginal assistance in terms of personnel from other departments and agencies of government, it was able to successfully handle the organisation of these conferences.

During the year under review, the Conference Cell, besides looking after the logistics of the NAM and CHOGM Conferences, handled logistical aspects of as many as 26 International Conferences /Seminars/Meetings hosted by diderent Ministries, including Ministry of External Affairs, in New Delhi.The list of these Conferences together with the other particulars is given at Appendix XIII. The assistance rendered by the Conference Cell in organising the logistics of all hese Conferences was provided on request from the Heads/Secretaries of the different Departments/Ministries to the Foreign Secretary.

The creation of a permanent Conference Cell in this Ministry and the assistance given by it for organising various Conferences has been well received and the work done by it has been fully appreciated by all the nodal Departments/Ministries of the Government of India. In addition, by having a permanent Conference Cell in the Ministry, it has been possible to build up an infrastructure and expertise for handling these international conferences, and to simultaneously eliminate the necessity of setting up mini-conference cells in these Ministries/Departments on each and every occasion that an international meeting has to be organised by them. This has effected considerable savings to the Government Exchequer.
-82>


USE OF HINDI IN OFFICIAL WORK

Top

In compliance with the Government's policy regarding the progressive use of Hindi in official work, there has been a considerable advance in the implementation of the Official Language Act and the Rules framed thereunder, both at the Headquarters of the Ministry and its Missions/Posts abroad. Apart from the progressive use of Hindi, special efforts were made for the propagation of Hindi in foreign countries, particularly in countries having a sizable population of people of Indian origin.

In the meetings of the Official Language Implementation Committee of the Ministry, special attention was paid to increasing the use of Hindi in official work. Official Language Implementation Committees have also been constituted in several Regional Passport Offices of the Ministry. The quarterly reports regarding the progressive use of Hindi as the Official Language were obtained regularly from the Passport Offices and the Missions abroad and reviewed in the Ministry.

During the period under review, three new posts of Hindi Officer were created in our Missions at Georgetown, London and Paramaribo. Candidates have been selected for these posts and also for the posts of Hindi Officer in our Missions at Port Louis, Port-of-Spain and Suva. All these Hindi Officers would take up their posts in the above Missions shortly.

Under the scheme of Chairs and Centres of Indian Studies abroad, the Government have sent visiting Professors of Hindi to the University of Havana, Cuba, Humboldt University, GDR, University of Bucharest, Romania and University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Hindi is being taught through the Indian Cultural Centres in Fiji, Guyana and Suriname.The Indian Council for Cultural Relations has been maintaining three posts of Hindi lecturers in Port-of-Spain, Georgetown and Suriname on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Part-time Hindi teachers are also running Hindi classes in our High Commission in Sri Lanka. Hindi text books, childern's books, dictionaries and linguaphone records were supplied to our Missions for presentation to those who are learning Hindi. Under the Newspaper Exchange Programme with many countries, Hindi newspapers were exchanged on regular basis.

Under the children's Hindi teaching programme of the Ministry, Hindi classes were conducted for the children of the Indian Officer's/employees in 13 Missions.

-83>

The Indian Missions abroad extended their full cooperation in popularizing the Hindi Correspondence Courses being conducted by the Central Hindi Directorate in foreign countries. With the cooperation of our Missions, people of several countries of the world are learning Hindi through these correspondence courses. At the request of the Indian Missions located in Afghanistan, Mexico, Canada, Burma, Trinidad etc., Hindi text books were sent for the persons learning Hindi there. A scheme has been prepared for sending a large number of books for the examinees in Guyana and Burma appearing in the examinations conducted by the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Madras, the Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha, and the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag. Under this scheme, text books costing Rs. one lakh are being sent for the students of Guyana during the current financial year. Hindi typewriters were sent as gift to the voluntary Hindi organisations of Mauritius, Fiji, Birmingham (UK),Netherlands and Karachi. Under the scheme of equipping our Missions abroad with Hindi typewriters, one such typewriter has been made available to all the Missions, except seven smaller Missions. Three of the remaining Missions will be supplled with Hindi typewriters during the current financial year.

A programme is being worked out for supplying cassettes, linguaphone records,text books and dictionaries etc. for the Hindi learners abroad. We are requesting our Missions to intimate the headquarters about their requirements in this regard, so that persons interested in learning Hindi do not face any inconvenience.

In compliance with the suggestions made by the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Official language after their inspection of Indian Missions abroad, all the Missions now have their sign-boards, name-plates, rubber stamps etc. in bilingual form, both in Hindi and English. The compliance report has again been called for to ensure this. The President's messages on the occasions of Independence Day and Republic Day are being sent in Hindi to our Missions abroad. Heads of several of our Missions read them in Hindi and make their formal speeches in Hindi also.

Under the scheme of bringing out the publications of the External Publicity Division in Hindi, Hindi versions of the Prime Minister's speeches made on the occasion of the Non-Aligned Summit Conference and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting were published in Hindi also and distributed among journalists, Members of Parliament and delegates. Bilingual India News Letters were published by some of our Missions.

The most remarkable event during the year under review was the holding of the Third World Hindi Convention in New Delhi in the last week of October 1983. The Ministry and the Indian Missions abroad extended their full cooperation in its organisation. The Officers and staff of the Ministry extended their active support and were members of several organising committees of the Third World Hindi Convention. Apart from inviting the foreign delegates and providing them with travel facilities,
-84>
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations bore the cost of the return air-fare for the delegates of neighbouring countries.

The Ministry also participated in the exhibition organised on this occasion, and its stall "Videshon Men Hindi" attracted a large number of visitors. During the conference there was a great rush at the pavilion to see the magazines and books published by other countries and visitors from both home and abroad highly appreciated these efforts. After the conclusion of the conference, the Ministry and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations provided local hospitality and arranged tours for some of the delegates.

The Meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Central Hindi Committee in the Ministry was held under the Chairmanship of the Minister of External Affairs in the first week of December 1983. Many important decisions were taken in this meeting, such as distribution of Hindi magazines abroad, extension of Hindi teaching in foreign countries, bringing out Hindi publications by the Ministry and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, constitution of a Hindi Cell at the permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, publication of a diplomatic booklet, and creation of posts of Hindi Officers and Hindi Translators in the Passport Offices. In accordance with the decisions of the Sub- Committee, all the divisions and sections at the headquarters as also the Indian Missions abroad have been directed to fully implement the provisions of the official Language Rules. The check-points fixed for the implementation of the Official Language Rules have been tightened further.

As in previous years, the Ministry issued letters of credence and recall, Commissions of Appointment in respect of all Heads of Missions in Hindi, and also prepared Hindi texts of the Treaties/agreements etc. concluded with foreign Governments. Apart from this, the Hindi Section of the Ministry vetted the Hindi translations of treaties and agreements prepared by other Ministries of the Government of India.
-87>


APPENDIX I Treaties/Conventions/Agreements concluded or
renewed by India

Top
Treaties/Conventions/Agreements concluded or renewed by India with other
countries in 1983*
Sl. Title of Convention/ Date of Date of  Date on which 
No. Treaty/Agreement Signature  ratification  
entered into force 
 
1             2      3         4         5 
 
MULTILATERAL 
 
European Economic Community (EEC) 
 
1. Agreement between the 
   Government of India and 
   the Commission of the 
   European Communities on the 
   Establishment and the 
   Privileges and Immunities 
   of the Delegation of the 
   Commission of the European 
   Communities in India .  23-1-1982   13-1-1983 
 
Organisation of Petroleum 
Exporting Countries (OPEC) 
 
2. Loan Agreement between India 
   and the OPEC Fund for 
   International Development for 
   Railway Modernization and 
   Maintenance Project Loan No. 
   323P. . . . .15-4-1983          4-7-1983 
 
South Asian Regional Cooperation 
 
3. Declaration on South Asian 
   Regional Cooperation. Done at 
   New Delhi on 2-8-1983    2-8-1983   2-8-1983 
 
International Tin Agreement 
 
4. Sixth International Tin 
   Agreement. Done at Geneva on 
   26-6-1981 . .  21-4-1983    26-5-1983 
-88> 
 
World Tourism Organisation 
 
5. Exchange of letters between 
   the Government of India and 
   the Secretary General of the 
   World Tourism Organisation for 
   the holding of the Fifth 
   Session of the General Assembly 
   of the World Tourism Organisation 
   in New Delhi from 3 October 
   14 October 1983    14-6-1983    28-9-1983 
 
United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP) 
 
6. Agreement between India and the 
   United Nations Development 
   Programme (UNDP) regarding 
   Project No.IND/82/050/A/01/31- 
   Computer Aided Management 
   Programme       18-12-1980     20-6-1983 
 
7. Agreement between India and the 
   United Nations Development 
   Programme (UNDP) regarding 
   Project No. IND/82/052/C/01/01- 
   Facilities for Research and 
   Testing in Rock Mechanics   27-7-1981  2-6-1983 
 
8. Agreement between India and the 
   United Nations Development 
   Programme (UNDP) regarding 
   Project No. IND/83/031/A/01/37- 
   Process and Product Development 
   Centre for Small Scale Casting 
   and Forging Industries at Agra. 20-7-1983 8-11-1983 
 
9. Agreement between India and the 
   United Nations Development 
   Programme (UNDP) regarding 
   Project No. IND/83/020/A/01/12- 
   Agricultural Education and 
   Research for Accelerated 
   Agricultural Development 23-10-1982   26-8-1983 
 
10. Agreement between India and 
    the United Nations Develop- 
    ment Programme (UNDP) regar- 
    ding Project No. IND/83/021/A/ 
    01/37 Development of Techno- 
    logy for Production of Bio- 
    chemicals, Phytochemicals and 
    Steroid Hormones . .8-11-1982     18-7-1983 
 
11. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/82/058/A/01/01 Streng- 
    thening the Institute of Water 
    Studies, Madras, Tamil Nadu 11-11-1982    4-7-1983 
 
12. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/82/026/A/01/01-Fea- 
    sibility Studies of Mineral 
    Prospects-Indian Bureau of Mines, 
    Nagpur. .  30-11-1982              18-7-1983 
-89> 
 
13. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/82/059/A/01/12-Investi- 
    gation of Drainage on "Black 
    Cotton" Soil under Irrigated 
    Agriculture .   9-12-1982        3-11-1983 
 
14. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/81/027/B/01/01 Mineral 
    Exploration and Development in 
    Kerala (Phase II)    1-1-1983    27-1-1983 
 
15. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/82/040/A/01/37-Techno- 
    Economic Feasibility Study for 
    the Production of Synthetic Oil  
    from Coal. .  .    3-1-1983      28-7-1983 
 
16. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/81/026/A/01/13 Com- 
    pressibility, Viscosity and 
    Solidification Behaviour of Liq- 
    uids at Ultrahigh Pressures. 15-1-1983  10-6-1983 
 
17. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/83/038/A/01/99 Job 
    Evaluation in Public Adminis- 
    tration         . 10-2-1983      27-4-1983 
 
18. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/80/038/D/01/01 Solar 
    Thermal Energy Centre.  14-2-1983   9-6-1983 
 
19. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/83/083/A/01/01 Advanced 
    Techniques in Reservoir 
    Engineering and Enhanced Oil 
    and Gas Recovery    4-4-1983    6-12-1983 
 
20. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/82/039/A/01/13 Study of 
    Environmental Effect on Cultural 
    Property.      28-4-1983           25-7-1983 
 
21. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/82/023/A/01/01 Bene- 
    fication of Minerals-Indian Bureau 
    of Mines, Nagpur.  15-7-1983   2-8-1983 
-90> 
 
22. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/83/004/A/01/99- 
    Feasibility Study for Production 
    of tubes, sections and profiles 
    in Copper based alloys. 27-7-1983    27-10-1983 
 
23. Agreement between India and the 
    United Nations Development Pro- 
    gramme (UNDP) regarding Project 
    No. IND/81/045/B/01/01 Three 
    Dimensional Geophysical 
    (Seismic) Surveys .22-10-1983      16-11-1983 
 
BILATERAL 
 
Australia 
 
24. Memorandum of Understanding 
    Relating to the Indo-Aus- 
    tralian Apple Technology 
    Extension Project in Jammu 
    & Kashmir.      20-9-1983        20-9-1983 
 
25. Agreement between the Govern- 
    ment of the Republic of India and 
    the Government of Australia 
    for the Avoidance of Double 
    Taxation of Income Derived 
    from International Air Trans- 
    port   .  . 31-5-1983       16-11-1983 
 
Austria 
 
26. Agreement between the Govern- 
    ment of India and the Austrian 
    Federal Government on Financial 
    Assistance to India.   4-10-1983  4-10-1983 
 
Bangladesh 
 
27. Protocol on Inland Water Transit 
    and Trade between the Government 
    of India and the Government of 
    Bangladesh  . 8-11-1983   4-10-1983 
 
Denmark 
 
28. Exchange of letters between the 
    Government of India the Royal 
    Government of Denmark acting 
    through the Danish International 
    Development Authority (DANIDA) 
    for rejuvenation of hand pumps 
    in selected districts of Madhya 
    Pradesh.   24-2-1983   24-2-1983 
-91> 
 
29. Agreement between the Government 
    of India and the Government of 
    Denmark on a Danish Government 
    Loan to India  .9-5-1983     9-5-1983 
 
Finland 
 
30. Cultural Agreement between the 
    Government of the Republic of 
    India and the Government of the 
    Republic of Finland   10-6-1983       9-12-1983 
 
Indonesia 
 
31. Agreement between the Government 
    of the Republic of India and the 
    Government of the Republic of 
    Indonesia concerning Technical 
    and Scientific Cooperation  23-9-1981 7-6-1983 
 
Japan 
 
32. Exchange of Notes between the 
    Government of India and the 
    Government of Japan regarding 
    Japanese Grant of Yen one 
    billion five hundred million 
    (Yen 1,500,000,000) for the 
    Social Environment Improvement 
    Project     1-2-1983     1-2-1983 
 
33. Exchange of Notes between the 
    Government of India and the 
    Government of Japan concerning 
    Japanese Grant of Yen two 
    billion one hundred and thirty 
    four million six hundred and 
    fifty-three thousand (Yen- 
    2,134,653,000) for Debt Relief   1-2-1983
    1-2-1983 
 
34. Loan Agreement No. ID-P.21 for 
    Oil and Natural Gas Commission 
    Offshore Supply Vessel Project 
    between India and the Overseas 
    Economic Cooperation Fund 
    (OECF) of Japan.   23-2-1983    8-4-1983 
 
35. Loan Agreement No. ID-P.22 for 
    Calcutta Metro Railways (Phase- 
    II) Construction Project bet- 
    ween India and the Overseas 
    Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) 
    of Japan.  23-2-1983        8-4-1983 
 
Maldives 
 
36. Cultural Cooperation Agreement 
    between the Government of the 
    Republic of India and the 
    Government of the Republic of 
    Maldives.    7-9-1983        7-9-1983 
-92> 
 
Morocco 
 
37. Cultural and Scientific Coope- 
    ration Accord between the 
    Government of the Republic of 
    India and the Government of the 
    Kingdom of Morocco.  12-1-1981  10-3-1983 
 
Nepal 
 
38. Agreement between the Government 
    of India and His Majesty's 
    Government of Nepal for Tele- 
    communication Service  19-9-1981      1-10-1983 
 
Nigeria 
 
39. Cultural and Educational 
    Agreement between the 
    Government of the Republic of 
    India and the Government of 
    the Federal Republic of 
    Nigeria 14-9-1982     27-1-1983 
 
Pakistan 
 
40. Agreement for the Establishment 
    of a Joint Commission between 
    the Government of India and 
    the Government of Pakistan . . .10-3-1983
   25-5-1983     1-6-1983 
 
Saudi Arabia 
 
41. Economic and Technical 
    Cooperation Agreement 
    between the Government of the 
    Republic of India and the 
    Government of the Kingdom 
    of Saudi Arabia  14-4-1981      30-3-1983 
 
Spain 
 
42. Cultural Agreement between the 
    Government of India and the 
    Government of Spain   16-9-1982
    9-3-1983    11-5-1983 
 
Sweden 
 
43. Agreement between the Government 
    of India and the Government of 
    Sweden on Development Coopera- 
    tion for the period 1 October 
    1983-30 June 1985 15-9-1983    15-9-1983 
-93> 
 
Uganda 
 
44. Cultural Agreement between the 
    Government of the Republic of 
    India and the Government of the 
    Republic of Uganda   24-11-1981
   28-4-1982   17-2-1983 
 
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 
 
45. Agreement between the Republic of 
    India and the Union of Soviet 
    Socialist Republics on Scientific 
    and Technical Cooperation in the 
    Utilisation of Atomic Energy for 
    Peaceful Purposes  .  .  .  .  .22-1-1979
    20-5-1982   12-1-1983 
 
46. Agreement between the Government 
    of the Republic of India and the 
    Government of the Union of 
    Soviet Socialist Republics on 
    Economic and Technical Co- 
    operation in the Construction of 
    the Second Stage of the Iron 
    and Steel Works at Visakhapatnam  12-5-1983
    12-5-1983 
 
47. Protocol of Discussions on the 
    Development of Soviet-Indian 
    Cooperation in Oil Exploration 
    and Production  13-6-1983     13-6-1983 
 
United Kingdom 
 
48. Exchange of Notes between the 
    Government of India and the 
    Government of the United King- 
    dom in respect of India Coal 
    Project Grant, 1983  19-2-1983   19-2-1983 
 
49. Exchange of Notes between the 
    Government of India and the 
    Government of the United King- 
    dom in respect of India Rail- 
    way Sector Project Grant, 1983  19-2-1983
    19-2-1983 
 
50. Exchange of Notes between the 
    Government of India and the 
    Government of the United King- 
    dom in respect of India Local 
    Costs Grant, 1982 23-2-1983     23-2-1983 
 
United Mexican States 
 
51. Agreement on Economic Co- 
    operation between the Republic 
    of India and the United Mexican 
    States . 12-11-1982   10-6-1983  11-11-1983 
-94> 
 
United States of America 
 
52. Project Grant Agreement between 
    India and the United States of 
    America acting through the 
    Agency for International 
    Development (AID) for six 
    million five hundred thousand 
    US dollars ($6,500,000) for 
    Agricultural Research-AID Pro- 
    ject No. 386-0470 . 30-6-1983    30-6-1983 
 
53. Second Amendment to the Project 
    Loan and Grant Agreement between 
    India and the United States 
    of America for Madhya Pradesh 
    Social Forestry-AID Loan No. 
    386-T-230-B. Project No. 
    386-0475  .  . 27-7-1983        27-7-1983 
 
54. Project Agreement Amendment 
    between India and the United 
    States of America acting 
    through the Agency for Inter- 
    national Development (AID). 
    Original Project Agreement 
    regarding Development and 
    Management Training signed on 
    30-9-1982 .   27-7-1983    27-7-1983 
 
55. Amendatory Agreement to Limited 
    Scope Grant Project between 
    India and the United States of 
    America acting through the 
    Agency for International 
    Development (AID) regarding 
    Rajasthan Medium Irrigation Pro- 
    ject, Agreement signed on 
    21-8-1980    30-7-1983     30-7-1983 
 
56. Project Loan and Grant Agreement 
    between India and the United 
    States of America acting through 
    the Agency for International 
    Development (AID) for Madhya 
    Pradesh Minor Irrigation, Aid 
    Loan No. 386-T-253, Project 
    No. 386-0483  30-7-1983   30-7-1983 
 
57. Project Loan and Grant Agreement 
    between India and the United 
    States of America for Irri- 
    gation Management and Training- 
    AID Loan No. 386-T-236. Project 
    No. 386-0484    30-7-1983      30-7-1983 
 
58. Project Loan and Grant Agreement 
    between India and the United 
    States of America acting through 
    the Agency for International 
    Development (AID) for Family 
    Planning Communications and 
    Marketing, Aid Loan No. 386- 
    Q-237 Project No. 386-0485.   30-8-1983 30-8-1983 
 
59. Project Loan and Grant Agreement 
    between India and the United States 
    of America acting through the 
    Agency for International Child 
    Development Services (ICDS). Aid 
    Loan No. 386-T-233. Project No. 
    386-0476. 15-9-1983        15-9-1983 
-95> 

APPENDIX II Major International Conferences/ Meetings/
Seminars Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars

 
Major International Conferences/Meetings/Seminars, etc. organized by Inter-
Government Organizations at which Government of India was represented in 1983-84
Sl. No. Title of Conferences etc.  Venue               Date 
 
1                2         3      4 
 
1. Ist Session of UN Group of 
Experts for Preparation of the 
second study on the question of 
Nuclear Weapon Free Zones   New York  
                                            14 to 18 March 1983 
 
2. Meeting of the UN Contact 
Group on Cyprus       Nicosia         
                                           15 to 19 March 1983 
 
3. UN Experts Group Meeting on 
Military Uses of Research & 
Development  .   New York             
                                         21 to 25 March 1983 
 
4. Ministerial Meeting of Non- 
Aligned Countries on Economic 
Issues .  .  .  . New Delhi          
                                        29 to 30 March 1983 
 
5. Preparatory Committee meeting 
of UN Conference on Peaceful Uses 
of Nuclear Energy    New York   
                          28 March to 8 April 1983 
 
6. Legal Sub-Committee meeting 
on Outer Space  New York   
                                21 March to 4 April 1983 
 
7. ILO Tripartite Technical 
Advisory Committee Meeting  Manila  
                               4 to 8 April 1983 
 
8. Commonwealth Workshop on 
Consolidation of Land Holding  New Delhi 
                                      4 to 11 April 1983 
 
9. Special Committee on the 
Charter of the United Nations 
and the Strengthening of Role 
of the Organisations  =.New York 
                                   4 April to 6 May 1983. 
 
10. 6th Inter-Governmental 
Committee for Migration "Seminar 
on Undocumented Migrants"  Geneva  
                                 11 to 15 April 1983 
 
11. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th 
Sessions of the UN Experts 
Group for a UN Study on 
Conventional Disarmament  .New York      11 to 22 April 1983 
                                    8 to 29 July 1983 
                                   6 to 16 September 
                                     1983 23 January to 
                                   3 February 1984 
 
12. 10th Session of the Building 
Civil Engineering and Public 
Works Committee of ILO    Geneva 
                                 12 to 21 April 1983 
 
13. ILO/UNDP 5th Joint Meeting 
to support Special Public 
Works Programmes   Geneva   
                        13 to 15 April 1983 
-96> 
 
14. ILO Asian Regional Tripartite 
Seminar on Non-Discriminatory 
Employment Practices Bangkok  
                                 18 to 22 April 1983 
 
15. 6th Session of the Liaison 
Committee of Afro-Asian Rural 
Reconstruction Organisation 
(AARRO) . New Delhi  
                                  21 April 1983 
 
16. International Conference in 
support of the struggle of 
Namibian people for 
Independence  Paris    
                                25 to 29 April 1983 
 
17. Asian Regional Training 
Course of ILO on Management of 
Production and Sheltered 
Workshops for the Disabled  Indonesia  
                                    25 April to 6 May 1983 
 
18. Regional Training Course of 
ILO on Employment Services  Bangkok 
                                25 April to 20 May 1983 
 
19. CIRDAP Workshop on System of 
Price Support & Procurement of 
Selected Agricultural 
Commodities  Kuala Lumpur       
                            3 to 7 May 1983 
 
20. Regional Preparatory 
Conference on the Question of 
Palestine . . Kuala Lumpur   
                              3 to 7 May 1983 
 
21. UNESCO Project "Applied 
Information in Developing 
Countries" College on Computer 
Science and the School on 
"Algorithm Design for Computer 
System Design" at CISM Udine,Italy 
                              8 May to 15 July 1983 
 
22. UNICEF Executive Board 
Session       New York      
                                    9 to 17 May 1983 
 
23. United Nations Disarmament 
Commission meetings  . New York                  
                              9 May to 3 June 1983 
 
24. Annual Session of the 
International Law Commission Geneva 
                                    9 May to 30 June 1983 
 
25. 23rd Annual Session of the 
Asian-African Legal Consultative 
Committee  . Tokyo             
                                    15 to 20 May 1983 
 
26. Working Group Meeting of 
UNCITRAL on New International 
Economic Order    Vienna       
                    16 to 20 May 1983 
 
27. 3rd Inter-Governmental 
Consultation for Asia and the 
Pacific on follow-up 
of WCARRD      Bangkok     
                   17 to 21 May 1983 
 
28. International Lawyers 
Conference . Moscow         
                   23 to 28 May 1983 
 
29. 223rd Session of the 
Governing Body of ILO .Geneva 
                  23 to 28 May 1983 
 
30. 16th Session of the United 
Nations Commission on 
International Trade Law  Vienna  
                  24 May to 3 June 1983 
 
31. 9th Meeting of the 
Coordinating Committee of Non- 
Aligned Countries' News Agency 
Pool     Nicosia            
                             1 to 2 June 1983 

-97>
32. 69th Session of the International Labour Conference Geneva 1 to 22 June 1983 33. Sub-Committee of the Executive Committee of CIRDAP meeting to consider permanent location of CIRDAP Headquarters Comilla/Dhaka 5 to 9 June 1983 34. Planning and Consultation Meeting of National Coordinators under the Programme of Small farmer Marketing Improvement of the FAO Bangkok 15 to 17 June 1983 35. Seminar on Refugee Law in South Asia Colombo 20 to 22 June 1983 36. 6th Regional Seminar on Development of Basic Community Services through Primary Health Care organised by ESCAP Seoul 12 July to 12 August 1983 37. Tripartite Workshop of ILO on Management of Welfare Facilities for women workers in Asia Manila 18 July to 5 August 1983 38. 2nd Session of UN Group of Experts for Preparation of the Second Study on the Question of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones New York 25 July to 5 August 1983 39. Regional Conference on World Disarmament Campaign New Delhi 22 to 26 August 1983 40. CIRDAP Sub-Regional Workshop on People's Participation Colombo 29 August to 4 September 1983 41. International Conference on the Question of Palestine Geneva 29 August to 7 September 1983 42. Resumed session of the Committee for Programme & Co-ordination New York 29 August to 7 September 1983 43. 6th Session of the Working Group on International Contract Practices of the UNCITRAL Vienna 29 August to 7 September 1983 44. Non-Aligned Meeting of Experts on the problems of Small Island Developing Countries St. George's Grenada 12 to 16 September 1983 45. Turin Centre Course of ILO on Training of Trainers for Supervisory Development Turin 12 September to 28 October 1983 46. ILO Course on Training Methodology for Co-operative Management Training Turin 19 September to 9 December 1983
-98>
47. Turin Centre Course of ILO on Labour Relations in Public Enterprises Turin 19 September to 21 October 1983 48. Turin Centre Course of ILO on Training of Trainers in Energy Management and Energy Saving Turin 19 September to 25 November 1983 49. 6th International Pneumoconisiosis Conference Bochum 20 to 23 September 1983 50. 11th Session of the Metal Trades Committee of ILO Geneva 20 to 29 September 1983 51. ILO Seminar for Senior Government Officials from Asian Countries on Maritime Labour Standards Bangkok 20 to 30 September 1983 52. 1st Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of Non-Aligned and other Developing Countries Pyongyang 24 to 28 September 1983 53. Regional Workshop of ILO on Skill Testing for Refrigeration and Airconditioning Machines Kuala Lumpur 27 to 29 September 1983 54. International Workshop on Communication and Cooperartion of Rural/Agricultural Development organised by AARRO Seoul 12 to 20 October 1983 55. Asian Regional Symposium of ILO on Codes of Practice for the Promotion of Sound Labour Relations Bangkok 17 to 21 October 1983 56. 1st Meeting of the Non-Aligned Coordinator's Group on Housing Colombo 25 to 27 October 1983 57. 37th Session of the Board of International Centre for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training Geneva 4 to 11 November 1983 58. 2nd Meeting of the Special Commission on the Law Applicable to International Sales of Goods The Hague 7 to 18 November 1983 59. 224th Session of the Governing Body of ILO Geneva 7 to 18 November 1983 60. Asian and Pacific Regional Workshop of ILO on Strategies for improving Employment Conditions of Rural Women Kuala Lumpur 14 to 18 November 1983 61. Follow-up Seminar of ILO on Policies and Principles in Working Conditions & Environments Colombo 14 to 18 November 1983 62. Convocation of the 18th Session of the Asian Advisory Committee Geneva 21 to 24 November 1983 -99> 63. ESCAP Meeting-cum-Study Tour on Inter-Country Action Research on Participatory Rural Development Colombo 22 to 25 November 1983 64. 2nd Special Meeting of the Governing Council of CIRDAP Manila 1 to 2 December 1983 65. High Level ILO Symposium on Appropriate Participative Organisations in selected Asian Countries Colombo 5 to 9 December 1983 66. 3rd Tripartite Techincal Meeting for Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Establishments Geneva 6 to 15 December 1983 67. Asia and Pacific Regional Technical Consultations on Institutional Credit for Small Enterprises Development Singapore 7 to 9 December 1983 68. FAO Expert Consultation on Organisation and Management Structure for Rural Development Rome 12 to 15 December 1983 69. Turin Centre Regional Fellowship Seminar of ILO on Energy Management and Training Needs Assessment Bangkok 12 to 16 December 1983 70. Meeting of CIRDAP Executive Committee Dhaka 14 to 15 December 1983 71. 7th Session of the Liaison Committee of AARRO New Delhi 4 January 1984 72. 4th Tripartite Technical Meeting for Mines other than Coal Mines Geneva 11 to 19 January 1984 73. IMO Legal Committee's Informal Working Group meeting on the Comprehensive Revision of the 1969 Civil Liability Paris 12 to 13 January 1984 74. Commonwealth Training Workshop on Land Use Planning Joydebpur (Bangladesh) & Ahmedabad 21 January to 4 February 1984 75. Conference of Ministers of Information of Non-Aligned Countries Jakarta 26 to 30 January 1984 76. Non-Aligned Movement International Sports Seminar Patiala 5 to 18 March 1984 77. 25th Session of the Executive Committee of AARRO New Delhi 14 to 16 March 1984 -100>

APPENDIX III Major International Conferences/ Meeting/Seminars

 
Major International Conferences/Meeting/Seminars Organised by non-Governmental
Organizations in which Indian experts participated in their personal capacity with
Government assistance in 1983-84

SI.  Title of Conference etc.  Venue     Date 
No. 
 
1. International Civil Service 
   Commission Meeting   Vienna  
                                    7 to 25 March 1983 
 
2. Meeting of the Board of Directors 
   & Executive Committee of the 
   Institute of Electrical & 
   Electronics Engineers Denver  
                                       6 to 13 June 1983 
 
3. Meeting of the Board of Directors 
   & Executive Committee of the 
   Institute of Electrical & 
   Electronics Engineers Vancouver 
                                12 to 15 August 1983 
 
4. Meeting of the UN Advisory Board 
   on Disarmament Studies New York  
                              6 to 9 September 1983 
 
5. Meetings of the Board of Directors 
   & Executive Committee of the 
   Institute of Electrical & 
   Electronics Engineers  Minneapolis  
                                  23 to 24 September 1983 
 
6. Expert Group Meeting on Social 
   Development Manpower Planning   Bangkok  
                                      18 to 24 October 1983 
 
7. Meetings of the Board of Directors 
   & Executive Committee of the 
   Institute of Electrical & Electronics 
   Engineers    Atlanta  
                                    18 to 21 November 1983 
 
8. International Civil Service 
   Commission Meeting New York 
                                        21 to 24 November 1983 
 
9. Meeting of the UN Advisory 
   Board on Disarmament Studies  New York 
                                  10 to 20 December 1983 
-101> 

APPENDIX IV Miscellaneous Major International Conferences

 
Miscellaneous Major International Conferences etc. in 1983-84 at which Government of
India was represented or in which Indian experts participated with Government of
India's assistance in their personal capacity

SI. Title of Conference etc.  Venue                         Date 
No. 
 
1         2          3               4 
 
1. Asia and Pacific 
   Development Centre (APDC), 
   Work-shop on Integration 
   of Social Factors Kuala Lumpur 
                                         31 May to 10 June 1983 
 
2. Seminar on Methods & 
   Techniques of Land 
   Organisation in rural 
   areas arranged by 
   German Foundation for 
   Inter national Development Berlin (West)  
                              27 June to 16 July and Munich    1983 
 
3. Seminar on Local 
   Administration and Regional 
   Development organised by 
   German Foundation for 
   International Development in 
   Collaboration with APDC.   Kuala Lumpur
             18 to 30 July 1983 
 
4. Conference on Critical issues 
   of National Computerization 
   Policy organised by East-West 
   Communication Institute  Honolulu  
                                         31 July to 6 August 1983 
 
5. UN Inter-regional Seminar on 
   Analysis of Current Trend in 
   Integrated Rural Development  China 
                                         16 to 31 August 1983 
 
6. 2nd International Conference 
   on Radio Spectrum Conservation 
   Techniques and for briefing by 
   various establishments of 
   Ministry of Defence  UK  
                                           6 to 22 September 1983 
 
7. 9th World Computer Congress 
   of International Federation 
   for Information Processing 
   (IFIP) and Ex-Committee 
   Meeting of International 
   Conference on Computer 
   Communication (ICCC)  Paris 
                                        18 to 23 September 1983 
 
8. 7th Commonwealth Law 
   Conference & inaugural 
   meeting of Commonwealth 
   Association of Parliamentary 
   Counsel & Law Draftsmen   Hong Kong 
                                        18 to 23 September  1983 
 
9. Asia Electronics Symposium 
   and 8th General Assembly 
   of Asia Electronics Union 
   and Industry   Bandung /Jakarta  
                                              18 to 22 October 1983 
 
10. Afro-Asian Conference on 
    "Role of Play" in child 
    Development  New Delhi  
	                14 to 18 November 1983 
 
11. 10th Conference of 
    Confederation of Asian and 
    Pacific Accountants (CAPA)  New Delhi  
	                           21 to 25 November 1983 
-102> 

APPENDIX V Statement showing number of
Passport/Miscellaneous services

 
Statement showing number of Passport/Miscellaneous services
applications received and number of Passport issued/Miscellaneous services rendered
during the period January to December 1983
SI.  Station           No. of        No. of     No. of       No. of 
No.                    Passport      Passports  application  Misc. 
                       applications  issued     for Misc.    services 
                       received                 services     rendered 
                                                received 
 
1. Ahmedabad . . . . . .   86,768       82,247    40,329        39,681 
2. Bangalore . . . . . .   71,457       69,901    16,503        16,226 
3. Bareily . . . . . . .   31,071       40,502     5,103         5,054 
4. Bhopal  . . . . . . .   18,690       19,564     7,872         7,178 
5. Bhubaneshwar. . . . .    4,419        4,234       751           708 
6. Bombay  . . . . . . . 2,66,432     2,61,341  3,29,421      3,24,216 
   Calcutta. . . . . . .   40,149       38,393    19,903        22,666 
   Chandigarh  . . . . .   94,122     1,02,087    27,479        28,020 
9. Cochin  . . . . . . . 1,45,233     1,49,789  1,50,476      1,49,134 
10. Delhi  . . . . . . . 1,22,817     1,18,193    67,324        06,108 
11. Gauhati. . . . . . .    2,632        2,416       674           652 
12. Hyderabad. . . . . . 1,17,809     1,19,907    32,526        32,369 
13. Jaipur . . . . . . .   75,202       75,496    15,283        14,773 
14. Jullundur. . . . . . 1,05,217     1,03,613    34,172        41.129 
15. Kozhikode. . . . . .   74,246       91,829    67,194        67,766 
16. Lucknow  . . . . . .   71,610       62,916    16,164        16,241 
17. Madras . . . . . . . 1,51,130     1,50,295    42,917        59,127 
18. Patna  . . . . . . .   25,705       23,232     3,648         3,413 
19. Srinagar . . . . . .   10,542        9,961     1,664         1,569 
20. Tiruchirapalli . . .   94,818     1,00,731    19,362        16,966 
       TOTAL . . . . . . 16,10,069    16,26,647   8,98,765     9,12,996 
-103> 

APPENDIX VI Cadre Strength at Headquarters and 135 Missions
and Posts Abroad

 
Cadre Strength at Headquarters and 135 Missions and Posts Abroad during 1983-84
SI       Cadre/Post               Total No.      Posts at     Posts at 
No.                               of Posts       Head-        Missions 
                                                 quarters     abroad 
 
1        2                         3               4             5 
 
IFS 
1. Grade I   . . . . . . . .    20+1*          3+1*            17 
2. Grade II  . . . . . . . .      21             3             18 
3. Grade III . . . . . . . .      83            20             63 
4. Grade IV  . . . . . . . .      85            16             69 
5. Sr. Scale . . . . . . . .     253            59            194 
6. Jr. Scale . . . . . . . .     101             9             92 
7. Training 
   Reserve 
   (Jr. Scale)  . . . . . .       50            50             .. 
8. Training 
   Reserve     . . . . .. .       19            19             .. 
9. Leave Reserve. . . . . . .     19            19             .. 
10. Deputation 
    Reserve      . . . . . .      20            20             .. 
 
IFS (B) 
 
11. Grade I   . . . . . . . .    120            61             59 
12. Grade II/III. . . . . . .    324           172            152 
-104> 
 
13. Grade IV   . . . . . . . .   915           417            498 
14. Grade V/VI    . . . . . .    689           492            197 
15. Grade II of 
    Cypher sub-Cadre  . .        199            81            118 
16. Selection Grade of 
    Stenographer's sub-Cadre      51            16             35 
17. Grade I of SSC. . . . . . .   95            31             64 
18. Grade II of SSC . . . . .    519           201            318 
19. Grade III of SSC. . . .      120            42             78 
20. Combined Research Cadre 
    (including isolated Research 
    Posts)      .  . . . . . .    45            39              6 
21. Interpreters'Cadre. . . . .   33             8             25 
 
                TOTAL          3,782         1,779          2,003 
 
     
No. of Local Posts in Missions abroad 1,517

NOTE. (i) The strength of IFS & IFS(B) cadres excludes officers in the combined
Research Cadre and Interpreters' Cadre.

NOTE. (ii) Officers against posts from SI. No. 1 to 12, 16, 17, 20 and 21 above
hold diplomatic posts in Missions/Posts abroad.

NOTE. (iii) Officers against posts from SI. No. 13 to 15, 18 and 19 above hold
non-diplomatic posts in Missions/Posts abroad.
-105>

APPENDIX VII Cadre Strength of IFS

 
Cadre Strength of IFS, 1983-85
Grades                           Prior to          Subsequent to 
                                 Cadre             Cadre Review 
                                 Review 
                                (1983)              1984         1985 
 
1                                  2                 3              
4 
 
Grade I  . . . . . . . . .         20                20            21 
Grade II . . . . . . . . .         21                27            28 
Grade III  . . . . . . . .         81                97            95 
Grade IV . . . . . . . . .         68                72            80 
Senior Scale . . . . . . .        198               243           256 
Junior Scale . . . . . . .         70                33            33 
Training Reserves. . . . .         50                27             
27 
Training/Deputation/Leave Reserve 
in all grades          . .         58                49             
49 
-106> 

APPENDIX VIII Foreign Language Chart

 
Foreign Language Chart
Sl.    Language                     Total No. of  
Officers 
No.                               Passed/Knows the 
                                         Language 
 
1. Arabic     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  76 
2. Burmese    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .2 
3. Chinese    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  42 
4. Czech      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   1 
5. Dutch      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   2 
6. French     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 150 
7. German     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  76 
8. Gorkhali   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  10 
9. Hungarian  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .1 
10. Bhasa (Bahasa)-Indonesia .  .  .  .  .  14 
11. Italian   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .8 
12. Japanese  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  26 
13. Kiswahili .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  13 
14. Malay-Bahasa .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3 
15. Persian   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  30 
16. Polish    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   3 
17. Portuguese.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  17 
18. Pushtu    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .1 
19. Romanian  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .1 
20. Russian   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  76 
21. Serbo-Croatian  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   6 
22. Spanish   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  66 
23. Swedish   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3 
24. Thai      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .4 
25. Tibetan   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3 
26. Turkish   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3 
27. Vietnames .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3 
-107> 

APPENDIX IX Revenue Expenditure of the Ministry

 
Revenue Expenditure of the Ministry during the financial year 1983-84
Estimate 
                                                          1983-84 
 
                                                       (Rs. in  
Lakhs) 
 
Headquarters  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   11,11.66 
Mission/Posts abroad.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   57,64.35 
Supply Wings, London & Washington  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    2,28.89 
 
Other Items 
 
Contribution to UN, Commonwealth Secretariat and other 
international institutions   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      
2,87.06 
Central Passport and Emigration Organisation.  .  .  .      
6,21.37 
Other Misc. Items   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     
40,67.85 
 
Aid 
 
Aid to Bangladesh   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      
1,71.00 
Aid to Bhutan    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     
56,88.50 
Aid to Nepal  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .     
17,88.47 
Aid to other Developing Countries under ITEC Programme      
6,00.00 
Aid to Sri Lanka .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      
2,93.60 
 
       TOTAL  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   
2,06,22.75 
-108> 

APPENDIX X Expenditure on Headquarters and Missions/Posts
abroad during

 
Expenditure on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad during 1983-84

The expenditure during 1983-84 on the Headquarters of this Ministry is expected to be of the order of Rs. 1111.66 lakhs out of which Rs.223.94 lakhs will be for publicity, Rs. 201.55 lakhs for travel expenses, Rs. 382.50 lakhs for Establishment charges, Rs. 2.60 lakhs on account of subsidy to the Departmental Canteen and Rs. 301.07 lacks for Miscellaneous Expenses.

The expenditure on Missions/Posts abroad including Supply Wings, London and Washington is likely to be Rs. 5993.24 lakhs. Out of this amount, Rs. 2290.32 lakhs will be Establishment charges including foreign and other compensatory allowances, Rs. 800.85 lakhs for cost of transfers/home leave passages and local tours and Rs.1646.14 lakhs for rent, rates and taxes including repairs and maintenance of buildings and Rs. 1255.93 lakhs for Miscellaneous Expenses. The annual average expenditure per Mission comes to Rs. 44.72 lakhs.

The expenditure mentioned above on Headquarters and Missions/Posts abroad, including expenditure on publicity, works out to approximately 34.45% of the total Revenue expenditure of this Ministry.
-109>

APPENDIX XI Statement showing the total number of employees

 
Statement showing the total number of employees (both permanent and temporary) in
the Ministry of External Affairs under various groups and representation of Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes therein (position as on 31-12-1983)
Group          Total   Scheduled  Percentage Scheduled   
Percentage 
              number of       Casts  of total Tribes of  
total 
              employees               employees               
employees 
 
Group 'A' .  .  .   607        78      12.85%        32           
5.27% 
Group 'B' .  .  .  1707       136       7.97%        22           
1.29% 
Group 'C' .  .  .   586        84      14.33%        35           
5.97% 
Group 'D' 
(excluding 
Sweepers)           457        66      14.44%         7           
1.53% 
Group 'D' 
(Sweepers)   .  .    27        27        100%        ..             
-110> 

APPENDIX XII Statement showing the number of appointments

 
Statement showing the number of appointments (both by direct recruitment and by
promotion) made in various groups of posts and resrved vacancies filled by Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes during the year 1983
Group     Total    Number of  Number of     Number of  
vacancies 
          number   vacancies  reserved  de-reserved due  
to 
          of     reserved  candidates non-availability  
of 
          Vacancies            appointed     reserved  
candidates 
        filled   Sche- Sche-   Sche-  Sche- Scheduled    
Scheduled 
                   duled   duled   duled  duled Castes       
Tribes 
                   Castes  Tribes  Castes Tribes 
 
Group 'A'   36      2       1       2       1      --             
-- 
Group 'B'  254     57      41      20       4      38             
33 
Group 'C'  124     22      12      15       4       7              
8 
Group 'D'   14      4       1       4       1      --             
-- 
-111> 

APPENDIX XIII International Conferences/Meetings

 
International Conferences/Meetings hosted by the Ministries/Departments of the
Government of India during 1983-84 for which logistical arrangements were made
by the Conference Cell of the Ministry of External Affairs
 
Sl.No.     Title of Conference/Meeting         Date 
 
 
1                  2                                                
3 
 
1. Meeting of ten Foreign Ministers of 
   Non-Aligned Countries hosted by Ministry 
   of External Affairs .                       30 April 1983 
2. Meeting of Study Group on Sports, Arts 
   and Culture of South Asian Countries 
   hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 
                                    27 to 28 June 1983 
3. Meeting of South Asian Regional Co- 
   operation at Foreign Ministers level, 
   hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 
                                28 July to 2 August 1983 
4. Indo-Saudi Arabian Joint Commission, 
   hosted by Ministry of Finance  .  
                                       10 to 11 August 1983 
5. International Conference on Disarmament, 
   hosted by Ministry of External Affairs  
                              22 to 26 August 1983 
6. Congress of 12th World Energy Conference, 
   hosted by Institute of Engineering .  
                                    14 to 23 September 1983 
7. World Tourism Organisation Conference, 
   hosted by Ministry of Tourism and Civil 
   Aviation   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  
                                     3 to 14 October 1983 
8. 39th Annual General Meeting of IATA, 
   hosted by Ministry of Tourism and Civil 
   Aviation   .   .   .   .   
                                     24 to 26 October 1983 
9. Indo-French Seminar, hosted by Ministry 
   of External Affairs    . 
                                        24 to 26 October 1983 
10. 10th Meeting of Heads of National 
    Narcotics Law Enforcing Agencies Far 
    East Region, hosted by Department of 
    Revenues, Ministry of Finance 
	                    7 to 11 November 1983 
11. "Afro-Asian Conference on Role of Play 
    in Child Development", hosted by National 
    Institute of Public Cooperation and 
    Child Development .   
	             14 to 18 November 1983 
12. Official level Meeting of the NAM 
    Committee on Palestine, hosted by 
    Ministry of External Affairs  . 
	     30 to 31 October and 18 to 19 November 1983 
13. International Meeting of Chartered 
    Accountants, hosted by Institute of 
    Costs and Works Accountants, Ministry 
    of Law and Company Affairs and Institute 
    of Chartered Accountants  
	                             21 to 23 November 1983 

-112> 14. Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 22 to 30 November 1983 15. Meeting of Group of Experts on International Conference on Money and Finance for Development, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 2 to 5 December 1983 16. Meeting of 8th Session of Indo-USSR joint Commission, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs . 5 to 12 December 1983 17. NAMEDIA-Media Conference of the Non- Aligned, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs . . 9 to 12 December 1983 18. Technical Committee Meeting on Sports, Arts and Culture of SARC, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 13 to 14 January 1984 19. Meeting of Indo-Pak Sub-Commission, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 19 to 21 and 18 to 23 January 1984 20. All India Passport Officers' Conference organised by Ministry of External Affairs 23 to 24 January 1984 21. 4th Consultation Meeting of UNIDO on Fertilizer Industry, hosted by Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers 23 to 27 January 1984 22. Meeting of NAM Committee on Money and Finance, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs . . . 12 to 18 February 1984 23. 12th International Leprosy Congress, hosted by Ministry of Health and Directorate General of Health Services 22 to 25 February 1984 24. SARC Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Foreign Secretaries hosted by Ministry of External Affairs . . . 27 to 29 February 1984 25. 3rd International Conference of Appellate Judges and Confernce of Commonwealth Chief Justices, hosted by Ministry of Law and Justice . 5 to 10 March 1984 26. ICRIER (International Economic Relations) -Round Table Meeting on International Monetary and Financial System & Issues, hosted by Ministry of External Affairs 19 to 21 March 1984
-113>
 
 
MEAs App twitter Facebook Google plus YouTube flickr