Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SRI PERDANA, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 03/08/95
Tajuk/Title : DINNER IN HONOUR OF HIS EXCELLENCY
P.V. NARASIMHA RAO, PRIME MINISTER
OF INDIA
It is indeed a privilege and an honour for me
to play host to the leader of a great Asian nation with
which Malaysia has close and cordial relations dating
back for centuries. In welcoming Your Excellency and
members of Your Excellency's distinguished delegation
to Malaysia, I am reminded of the immense contribution
India has made to the rich cultural and religious
diversity of this country. It is a contribution that
has laid a strong foundation for the friendship and
cooperation that happily exist between our two
countries. Your visit will no doubt further strengthen
this relationship.
2. It is no coincidence that Malaysia and India share
many common views and perceptions on regional and
international issues, especially those concerning the
rights of developing countries to development and the
promotion of international peace and stability. It is
a commonality borne out of our shared historical
experience and of our common aspiration for a better
world for mankind-a world governed by a sense of fair
play, justice and respect for international law and
norms of behaviour. This has made it possible for both
our countries to cooperate and work closely together at
the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned
Movement, the G-15 as well as other international fora.
3. Close as our cooperation has been on regional and
international issues, a major test of our close
relations must be the level of bilateral economic
cooperation between the two countries. Although the
value of total trade between Malaysia and India in 1994
had shown an encouraging increase over that in 1993,
and several Malaysian and Indian companies are
operating in each others' country under joint-venture
arrangements, the level of economic interaction and
cooperation is still low compared to the potential
available. There is therefore a lot more that Malaysia
and India could do together to realise the full
potential of economic opportunities offered by both
countries. This is an issue that we had deliberated
upon this morning and on which several understandings
have been reached.
4. It is the intention of the Government of Malaysia
to see that the understandings we have reached are
carried out for the mutual benefit of our two
countries. Malaysia is committed to working and
cooperating closely with India not only in the spirit
of South-South cooperation but also because of the
importance that we attach to India as an economic and
political force. We see in a prosperous India an
important economic partner, a market, as well as a
source of stability in the South Asian region.
5. As governments liberalise their economies, the
role of the private sector becomes more crucial in a
country's development process. The agreements and
understandings we have reached on economic cooperation
could only be realised with the participation of the
private sector. I am therefore very happy, Your
Excellency, that you have brought with you a number of
prominent Indian businessmen and entrepreneurs who are
keen to develop business relations with their Malaysian
counterparts.
6. I have reason to be optimistic that their visit
and their discussions with their Malaysian counterparts
will result in concrete projects both in Malaysia and
India. My optimism is in fact inspired very much by the
brave economic policies and reforms that Your
Excellency had initiated. The encouraging growth that
India had experienced and the dramatic increase in
foreign investment in your country speaks well of the
policies that you have introduced. In opening the
country to foreign investment, Your Excellency has
created opportunities for Malaysian companies to
participate in India's development.
7. As we rejoice over the economic progress that our
two countries have made and the peace and security
under which our people live, others in other parts of
the world are not so fortunate. The peoples of
Somalia, Rwanda, Chechnya; and in particular Bosnia-
Herzegovina are being killed, raped, plundered and
driven out of their countries. It is ironic that in
this day and age, on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of
the United Nations, the powerful and self-proclaimed
defenders of justice, human rights and peace seem
paralysed when faced with genocide perpetrated right in
front of them. In Bosnia-Herzegovina resolution after
resolution had been passed calling for strong action to
protect the innocent Bosnians. Yet nothing has been
done by those in a position to do so that would
effectively put an end to Serbian aggression and
brutalities against the Bosnian Muslims. Rather than
celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations,
it is perhaps more fitting to declare the anniversary
as a day of mourning for the failure of the United
Nations to live up to its expectation as the guardian
of peace and protector of the weak and the helpless.
8. Your visit is indeed a brief one but it marks
another milestone in the relations between our two
countries. In the next few months there will be many
opportunities for us to meet and continue the ongoing
process of consultations with one another over issues
of mutual concern. I look forward to meeting with Your
Excellency again soon.
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