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PART-05

CENTRAL ASIAIndia - Kazakhstan Relations

In modern times, Pandit Nehru along with IndiraGandhi visited Almaty in 1955. Diplomatic relationswere established in February 1992. India was thefirst country outside CIS region visited by PresidentNazarbayev after independence of Kazakhstan. Thisvisit in 1992 was followed by the visit of PrimeMinister of India Shri Narsimha Rao in 1993 whichgave impetus to India-Kazakhstan relations.President Nazarbayev also v isi ted India inDecember, 1996, February, 2002 and January 2009.In Jan 2009 he was the Chief Guest at India’sRepublic Day celebrations. Vice President of IndiaSh. KR Narayanan visited Kazakhstan in September,1996 and Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal BihariVajpayee visited Kazakhstan in June, 2002.

Vice President of India Shri Hamid Ansari visitedKazakhstan on 6-10th April, 2008.

EAM Shri S.M. Krishna visited Kazakhstan on11th-13th May, 2010. Prime Minister ManmohanSingh visited Astana on 15-16 April 2011. During thevisit, several Agreements were signed.Important among them were

(i) Agreement between ONGC Videsh Limitedand Kazmunaigas on Satpayev ExplorationBlock,

(ii) Agreement for Cooperation in the PeacefulUses of Atomic Energy, and

(iii) Joint Action Plan for furthering StrategicPartnership between India and Kazakhstan.

Mr Rajeev Kher, Secretary Commerce led anofficialcum- business delegation for participation inthe “India Show-2014” held in Almaty from 27-30March 2014. Representatives of over 150 Indiancompanies participation in the “India Show” whichincluded trade exhibhition, B2B & B2C meetings andcultural evening.

India and Kazakhstan actively cooperate under

the aegis of Multilateral Fora including CICA, SCOand the UN organizations. India has been aconsistent supporter of Conference on Interactionand Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)and is actively participating in the process.

India was admitted as Observer in the SCOSummit held in July 2005 in Astana. Kazakhstan issupportive of India’s permanent membership toUNSC.

Trade between India and Kazakhstan do notmatch the existing vast potential in this field. Bilateraltrade in 2013 was USD 676.91 million in comparisonto USD 525.15 million in 2012. Major commoditiesof export from India to Kazakhstan are Tea,Pharmaceuticals, Medical equipments, Machinery,Tobacco, Valves and Consumer Items etc. Majoritems of import by India are asbestos, soft wheat,steel, aluminium, wool and raw hides.

INDIA SHOW-2014”. The India Show was heldin Almaty from 27-30 March 2014, where over 140Indian companies and PSU’s representing diversesectors such as manufacturing, engineeringproducts, mechanical equipments.

A fresh impetus to bilateral trade and commercialrelations was given as a result of the visit of PresidentNazarbayev to India in January 2009. An agreementbetween ONGC Videsh Ltd. and KazMunaiGaz onSatpayev oil block and MoU between NPCIL andKazatomprom envisaging cooperation includingsupply of uranium to India among others was signedduring the visit. A memorandum of understandingfor cooperation in the field of Space; extradition treatybetween both countries and the protocol on theaccession of Kazakhstan to WTO was also signedduring the visit.

Kazakhstan and India cooperate with each otherunder International North SouthTransport Corridor Project.Current Indian Participation in Kazakhstan

I. KEC (laying Transmission Lines)II. Punjab National Bank (4 operational


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branches, first PSU bank having whollyowned operations in the region)

III. ONGC Videsh Limited (25% stake inSatpayev Block of Caspian Sea)

IV. 3i-infotech Limited (offering businesssolutions)

V. Dr Reddy’s (distributor office in Almaty)VI. C-ahead (business solutions)Indian Cultural Centre conducts classes in Yoga,

Hindi and Kathak dances.India trains specialists and scholars from

Kazakhstan in various fields under ITEC programsponsored by Ministry of External Affairs, and underthe ICCR Scholarship programmes for internationalstudents. Since 1992 more than 750 specialists haveundergone training under ITEC and more than 160students have studied in India under ICCRprogramme.

There are about 3000 NRIs in the whole ofKazakhstan. Most of the NRIs are in the privatesector (oil exploration, downstream industries, steeland IT) and business (tea, pharmaceuticals etc).Civil Nuclear Deal: Signed 2011During Narendra Modi visit in July 2015, Kazakhstanwhich is Central Asia’s largest economy and theworld’s largest producer of uranium, agreed tosupply India with 5,000 metric tons of nuclear fuel inthe 2015-2019 period. Between 2010 and 2014,Kazakhstan supplied India with 2,100 metric tons ofuranium.

The increase in uranium supply is a boon toModi’s energy plans. India, which has increasinglyfaced an energy-deficit, dealing with blackouts andleaning heavily on coal has begun to focus onbuilding up its nuclear power capabilities in recentyears. India has seven nuclear power plants, whichoperate a total of 21 nuclear reactors. Six morenuclear reactors are under construction. India’s aimis to supply a quarter of its electricity from nuclearpower by 2050, an ambitious goal. Last summer,Modi directed the Department of Atomic Energy totriple India’s nuclear capacity to 17 GWe by 2024.

Kazakhstan produces 38 percent of the world’suranium–22,451 metric tons in 2013–more than thenext three top producers combined (Canada,Australia, and Niger). The country is also set to hostthe International Atomic Energy Agency’s low-enriched uranium (LEU)bank, a facility which willstockpile LEU, used in civ ilian nuclear powerreactors, in order to assure supply to members

should they experience a disruption.While Kazakhstan is decidedly rich in nuclear

materials, it has distinguished itself as a firmproponent of nonproliferation and peaceful use ofcivilian nuclear power. In 1991, when the SovietUnion dissolved, newly-independent Kazakhstaninherited a sizable stockpile of Soviet nuclearweapons–the world’s fourth largest at the time. TheSemipalatinsk test site, also called the Polygon andlocated on the Kazakh steppe, had been the sceneof more than 450 nuclear tests over four decade ofSoviet control. In the 1990s Kazakhstan worked torepatriate the weapons, and was declared nuclear-free in 1995. Twenty years later, in an articlepublished by The Diplomat, Kazakh foreign ministerErlan Idrissov said “This history explains thedetermination of Kazakhstan and its citizens tocampaign for a permanent end to nuclear testingand, in the long run, a nuclear weapon-free world.”

India and Kazakhstan also made a number ofother agreements during Modi’s visit, coveringmil i tary cooperat ion, coordinat ion oncounterterrorism, and range of economic andbusiness deals. The uranium supply agreement,between Kazakhstan’s state nuclear energysupplier Kazatomprom and India’s Department ofAtomic Energy, is just a small part of increasingcooperation between the two countries. (TheDiplomat, 9 Jul 2015)

List of Agreements signed during the Visit ofPrime Minister to Kazakhstan (7-8 July, 2015) July08, 2015.

I. Agreement on Transfer of SentencedPersons

II. Agreement on Defence and Military –Technical Cooperation between Republic ofIndia and Republic of Kazakhstan.

III. Memorandum of Understanding betweenMinistry of Youth Affairs and Sports ofRepublic of India and Ministry of Culture andSports of Republic of IV. Kazakhstan onCooperation on Physical Cultural andSports.

IV. Memorandum of Understanding betweenMinistry of Railways of Republic of India andthe Kazakhstan Temir Zholy of Republic ofKazakhstan on Technical Cooperation in thefield of Railways

V. Long term contract between Department ofAtomic Energy of Republic of India and JSC


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National atomic company "KazAtomProm’for sale and purchase of natural uraniumconcentrates

India-Tajakistan RelationsPresident Pratibha Devisingh Patil paid a state visitto Tajikistan in September 2009. President Rahmonvisited India from 1 to 4 September 2012 (earlier in1995, 1999, 2001 and 2006). India and Tajikistanelevated bilateral relations to the level of a “StrategicPartnership”, encompassing cooperation in a widespectrum of areas, including political, economic,education, health, human resource development,defence, counter-terrorism, science and technology,culture and tourism.

Vice President of India Shri Hamid Ansari paidan official visit to Tajikistan from 14 to 17 April, 2013.During the visit, he announced the setting up of aCentre for IT Excellence with a super computer atthe Tajik Technical University.

To overcome a crisis caused by anunprecedented harsh winter in January-February2008, India gave a grant of US $ 2 million (US $ 1million as cash assistance and US$ 1 million in kindlike power cables, generators and pump sets). InJune 2009, US $ 200,000 cash assistance was givenby India to overcome damage caused by floods inApril-May 2009.

Recently, Govt. of India gifted a high qualityambulance to the Governor of Khorog city.

Project Assistance: (1) In 1995, India extendeda credit line of US $ 5 million to the Government ofTajikistan to set up a Joint Venture with a privateIndian company “Ajanta Pharma” for production ofpharmaceuticals. The Joint venture, “Tajik AjantaPharma” could not function due to the inability ofTaj ik side to prov ide working capital. TheGovernment of India converted the principal amountalong with the accrued interest of US$ 3.37 millioninto a grant during the visit of Prime Minister of Indiain November 2003. (2) With a grant of US$ 0.6million, a Fruit Processing Plant was established in2005. (3) With a grant of US$ 0.6 million, anInformation and Technology Centre (Bedil Centre)was commissioned in 2006. (4) Under a grant ofUS$ 0.75 million, India set up a Modern EngineeringWorkshop which was commissioned it in June 2011.

Private investments and projects: Indian privateinvestments in Tajikistan include a 5 star hotel being

constructed by CHL. An Indian company KEC/RPGcompleted the construction of 116 km long powertransmission line from Sangtuda-1 Hydropower plantto the Afghan border in October 2010. On acommercial contract,BHEL supplied a 7 MWgenerator to Tajik company “Pamir Energy” and thisproject was completed in 2011.

New Package of Assistance: During the visit ofPresident Rahmon to India from 1 to 4 September2012, India, as part of its ongoing developmentalpartnership with Tajikistan, announced newdevelopment projects including: an IT Centre ofexcellence; an e-network, including tele-educationand tele-medicine; medical centres; languagelaboratories; an Entrepreneurship DevelopmentInstitute; supply of agricultural machinery.

India’s support to Tajikistan’s accession to WTO:On 3 August 2012, Mr.Sharif Rahimzoda, Ministerof Economic Development and Trade andAmbassador Mr. Asith Bhattacharjee signed aProtocol supporting Tajikistan’s accession to theWTO. On 2 March, 2013, Tajikistan became 159thmember of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

2012-13: Total 48.02 M Imp 12.86 Exp 35.162013-14: 55.13 M, Imp .86 Expo 54.27Bilateral trade with Tajikistan is not at any

significant level. Trade is hampered by the circuitousroute for transportation of goods (India to BandarAbbas by sea route, from Bandar Abbas v iaTurkmenistan and Uzbekistan by land). The majoritems of India’s exports are pharmaceuticals, tea,coffee, chemicals, textiles & clothing and machineryand the major imports are aluminum, cotton, dryfruits, vegetables, organic chemicals and essentialoil.Air link:Tajik Air started a weekly Dushanbe-Delhi direct flightfrom 6 July 2012.Cultural:ICCR's Cultural Center (India Cultural Center- ICC)attached to the Embassy was officially inauguratedon 30th June 2003. ICCR has deputed a Kathak(dance) teacher and a Tabla teacher to the Center.Yoga classes are also conducted and these classeshave become very popular. Hindi is also taught inthe Centre.Scholarship:Till date, 844 slots for ITEC and 296 ICCRscholarships have been utilized by Tajik candidates


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to study in India. Tajikistan is one of the largestbeneficiaries of the ITEC programme (ITEC trainingslots increased to 150 from 100 during PresidentRahmon’s visit in September 2012).Indian Community in Tajikistan:The total number of NRIs is estimated at 400 of which300 are students in the Dushanbe Medical College.Agreements during PM Narendra Modi visit in Jul 2015

1. Programme of Cooperation (POC) betweenMinistries of Culture of India and Tajikistan inthe field of Culture for the years 2016-18:

The POC envisages cooperation in the field ofculture through exchange of expertise in protection,preservation and promotion of cultural heritage inboth countries, exchange of information and expertsand organization of cultural days in each other’scountries for greater cultural understanding betweenthe countries.

2. Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on settingup of Computer Labs in 37 Schools in Tajikistan:

The Note Verbale conveys the intention of Indianside to set up computer labs in 37 schools inTajikistan for supporting Government of Tajikistan’shuman resource and skill development efforts. TheNV also outlines responsibilities of both sides inimplementing the project.

Farkhor Air Base is a military air base locatednear the town of Farkhor in Tajikistan, 130 kilometers(81 mi) south east of the capital Dushanbe. It isoperated by the Indian Air Force in collaboration withthe Tajikistan Air Force. Farkhor is India's first andonly military base outside its territory.

India- TurkmenistanThe year 2013 marked the 21st anniversary ofestablishment of diplomatic ties between India andTurkmenistan. TAPI (Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan– India) gas pipeline project has madesteady progress since the TAPI Summit was held inAshgabat in December 2010. This project which willelevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership isexpected to be operational in August 2017. The TAPITechnical Working Group (TWG) was held inAshgabat on 6-7 July followed by the TAPI SteeringCommittee Meeting. Shri Saurabh Chandra,Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gasled the Indian delegation at the 18th SteeringCommittee Meeting of TAPI project held in Ashgabat

on July 8, 2014.

PoliticalIndia enjoys close, friendly and historical ties withTurkmenistan.

‘Turkman Gate’ built in Delhi in 1650s bearstestimony to this friendship.

Prime Minister Nehru visited Ashgabat in June1955. India and Turkmenistan have implementedw.e.f. 1 April 2011 an Agreement on visa free entryfor Diplomatic Passport holders. The 5th Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic,Scientific and Technological Cooperation is expectedto be held in Ashgabat in 2014.

Major visits from India - PM Shri P.V. NarasimhaRao, 19-21 Sept 1995; EAM Shri Jaswant Singh -May 1999;MOS(EA) Shri E.Ahamed- 1-4 Oct 2006& 14 Feb 2007;EAM Shri S.M. Krishna 18-19Sept.2009;Minister (Communications & IT) Shri KapilSibal, 16-19 September 2012; Minister (P&NG) Dr.M. Veerappa Moily, 9-10 July 2013; Major visits toIndia - President Saparmyrat Niyazov, 18-20 April1992 & 25-26 February 1997.

India provides ITEC training for Turkmennationals in India. In the year 2014-15, 20 ITEC slotswere offered to them. In all, since the inception ofthe programme for Turkmenistan in 1994, a total of332 Turkmen nationals have been trained in variouscourses.

India provides ICCR Scholarships to studentsfrom Turkmenistan. 20 ICCR scholarships areoffered every year. There are approximately 100Students from Turkmenistan pursuing variouscourses.

Commercial:The total trade between India and Turkmenistanin the year 2012-13 stood at US $ $ 78.25 million;of which exports from India stood at $ 69.92million and Imports by India at $ 8.33 registeringa trade surplus of US$ 61.59 million in India’sfavour.

Major i tems of import from India includeelectronic and electrical items (LG products madein India), Machinery and woven apparel andpharmaceuticals, frozen meat and tyres. Exports toIndia comprises of raw cotton, raw hides andinorganic chemicals (e.g. Iodine).Air links with Turkmenistan:Turkmenistan Airlines operates 8 flights a week to


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India – 2 direct flights to New Delhi (Friday andSunday) and 6 flights to Amritsar (all days exceptFriday). Turkmenistan Airlines proposes to start 2flights a week on the Ashgabat-Goa-Ashgabat sectorin 2014.Cultural relations:The Days of Indian Culture in Turkmenistan wereheld in Turkmenistan from 9-11 July 2013. A 15-member Bollywood Group led by Shri JasvinderSingh Paras held performances in Ashgabat on 9and 11 July and in Mary on 10 July. The Bollywoodperformances attracted nearly packed halls withgreat appreciation from the Turkmen audience.Indian community in Turkmenistan:At present there are about 850 Indians nationals inTurkmenistan, comprising junior engineers/technicians (working in oil and gas industry) andconstruction workers.

TAPI PROJECTAgreements during PM Narendra Modi visit in Jul2015

1. Memorandum of Understanding on supplyof Chemical Products between the IndianPublic Sector Undertaking ‘RashtriyaChemicals and Fertilizers Limited’ and theTurkmen State concern ‘Turkmenhimiya.’

2. Memorandum of Understanding betweenthe Foreign Service Institute of the Ministryof External Affairs of the Republic of Indiaand the Institute of International Relationsof the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofTurkmenistan.

3. Agreement between the Ministry of YouthAffairs and sports of the Republic Of Indiaand the State Committee for sport ofTurkmenistan on Cooperation in the field Ofsports.

4. Programme of Cooperation in Science andTechnology between the Government of theRepublic of India and the Government ofTurkmenistan for the Period of 2015-2017.

5. Memorandum of Understanding betweenthe Government of the Republic of India andthe Government of Turkmenistan onCooperation in Yoga and TraditionalMedicine.

6. Memorandum of Understanding betweenthe Government of the Republic of India andthe Government of Turkmenistan onCooperation in the field of Tourism.

7. Agreement between the Government of theRepublic of India and the Government of theRepublic of Turkmenistan on Cooperationin the field of Defence.

8. Indo-Turkmen Joint Statements.TAPI Project(Aug 2015, FirstPost Article):GAIL India Ltd will hold stake in the four-nationcompany being set up to build the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline asglobal firms have so far shunned the USD 7.6 billionproject.

The four nations planning the TAPI pipeline lastweek decided to co-own the project and a jointventure company with participation from eachcountry would be set up to build and operate theover 1,800 km line.

"Turkmenistan's state-owned TurkmenGaz hassaid it will be the leader of the consortium and willtake a minimum 51 per cent stake." The work onTAPI pipeline is yet to commence as the four nationshave not succeeded in finding a reputed internationalfirm that could lead the consortium to constructpipeline.

Pradhan said at the 22nd Steering Committeemeeting of TAPI project in Ashgabat last week it wasagreed by the four nations to make investment inthe project subject to techno-commercial viability,shareholders agreement and investment agreement.

GAIL will take equity from Indian side in theproject consortium.

Since the four state-owned firms, including GAILof India, neither have the financial muscle nor theexperience of a cross-country line, an internationalcompany is needed to build and operate it in hostileterritories of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The TAPI pipeline will have a capacity to carry90 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd)gas for a 30-year period and will be operational in2018. India and Pakistan would get 38 mmscmdeach, while the remaining 14 mmscmd will besupplied to Afghanistan.

TAPI wil l carry gas f rom Turkmenistan'sGalkynysh field, better known by its previous nameSouth Yolotan Osman that holds gas reserves of 16trillion cubic feet.

From the field, the pipeline will run to Herat andKandahar province of Afghanistan, before enteringPakistan. In Pakistan, it will reach Multan via Quettabefore ending at Fazilka (Punjab) in India.


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EAST ASIAIndia - Mongolia Relations

India and Mongolia have interacted through themedium of Buddhism over a period of 2600 years.Establishment of diplomatic relation in 1955.

Mongolia reiterated its support to India becominga permanent member of a reformed and expandedUNSC.

In February 1994, a Treaty of Friendly Relationsand Co-operation was signed during the visit ofPresident Ochirbat to India.

During PM visit to India in 2004, Both sides alsoformalized the ratification of the Extradition Treatyand the Treaty on Legal Assistance in Civil andCommercial Matters.

India and Mongolia also cooperate in thedefence sector. There is India-Mongolia JointWorking Group for defence cooperation which meetsannually. Sixth meeting of this Working Group washeld on 21-22 November 2013 in India. Joint India-Mongolia exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant’ is heldregularly, the last one being conducted in June 2013in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Civil Nuclear Deal: 12 Sep2009.

A Working Group for cooperation in the field ofnuclear energy has been set up between therespective agencies of the two countries i.e. theDepartment of Atomic Energy and the NuclearEnergy Agency of Mongolia. The second meetingof this Working Group was held in Mumbai from 10-12 December 2012.Trade Relations:

In 1996 during the visit of the then VicePresident, Mr. K.R. Narayanan to Mongolia, anAgreement on Trade and Economic Cooperationbetween India and Mongolia was signed. TheAgreement provides for MFN status to each otherin respect of customs duties and all other taxes onimports and exports.

The main items of exports to Mongolia includemedicines, mining machinery and auto parts, etc.Imports from Mongolia include raw wool. India-Mongolia bilateral trade figures for the last fivecalendar years as per Mongolian statistics are asfollows:

(Table:)ITEC Assistance: During President Elbegdorj’s

visit to India, 120 slots per annum were earmarkedto Mongolia under ITEC. During 2011-12, theallocation of slots under ITEC civilian trainingprogramme was increased to 150.

India Japan Relations1. Background:The friendship between India and Japan has a longhistory rooted in spiritual affinity and strong culturaland civilizational ties. The modern nation states havecarried on the positive legacy of the old associationwhich has been strengthened by shared values ofbelief in democracy, individual freedom and the ruleof law. Over the years, the two countries have builtupon these values and created a partnership basedon both principle and pragmatism. Today, India isthe largest democracy in Asia and Japan the mostprosperous. India’s earliest documented directcontact with Japan was with the Todaiji Temple inNara, where the consecration or eye-opening of thetowering statue of lord Buddha was performed byan Indian monk, Bodhisena, in 752 AD. Among otherIndians closely associated with Japan were theHindu leader Swami Vivekananda, Nobel laureateRabindranath Tagore, enterpreneur JRD Tata,freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose andJudge Radha Binod Pal . The Japan-IndiaAssociation was set up in 1903, and is today theoldest international friendship body in Japan.Throughout the various phases of history sincecivilizational contacts between India and Japanbegan some 1400 years ago, the two countries havenever been adversaries. Bilateral ties have beensingularly free of any kind of dispute – ideological,cultural or territorial. The relationship is unique andone of mutual respect manifested in generousgestures and sentiments, and of standing by eachother at times of need. Post the Second World War,India did not attend the San Francisco Conference,but decided to conclude a separate peace treaty withJapan in 1952 after its sovereignty was fully restored,marking a defining moment in the bilateral relationsand setting the tone for the future. The soledissenting voice of Judge Radha Binod Pal at theWar Crimes Tribunal struck a deep chord amongthe Japanese public that continues to reverberateto this day.

In the first decade after diplomatic ties wereestablished, relations between the two countries


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were upbeat. Several high level exchanges tookplace, including Japanese Prime Minister NobusukeKishi’s visit to India in 1957, Prime Minister Nehru’sreturn visit to Tokyo the same year (with a gift of twoelephants) and President Rajendra Prasad’s visit in1958. The momentum of bilateral ties, however, wasnot quite sustained as per expectations in thefollowing decades. This is evidenced by the fact thatafter Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda’s visit to India in1961, the next Prime Ministerial visit was by YasuhiroNakasone in 1984. When Prime Minister RajivGandhi visited Tokyo in 1988, it was after a gap of30 years since the last high-level visit from India.But a transformational development in the economichistory of India was Suzuki Motor Corporation’s pathbreaking investment in India in the early 1980s thatrevolutionized the automobile sector, bringing inadvanced technology and management ethics toIndia. Japanese Official Development Assistance(ODA) also continued to flow helping to supplementthe work of the Indian government and helping toplug the gaps in economic development. A test ofthe reliability of Japan as a friend was witnessed in1991, when Japan was among the few countries thatbailed India out of the balance of payment crisis.

The beginning of the 21st Century witnessed adramatic transformation in bilateral ties. Guided bythe strategic vision of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori,the leadership of the two countries, cutting acrossparty lines, recognised the merit of substantivebilateral engagement. Recognition of the mutualadvantage in enhancing and widening the ambit ofthe bilateral relationship has driven India-Japan tiesin the past decade and a half. During Prime MinisterMori’s path-breaking visit to India in 2000, the Japan-India Global Partnership in the 21st Century waslaunched providing the much-needed impetus forthe trajectory of relations to soar to new heights.The Global Partnership formed the foundation forthe strengthening ties in diverse fields, includingidentifying strategic convergences. The jointstatement signed by Prime Ministers ManmohanSingh and Shinzo Abe in 2006 added a newdimension to factor in new challenges as theyemerged, and the relationship was upgraded to a

Global and Strategic Partnership with theprovision of annual Prime Ministerial Summits. Indiais the only country with which Japan has such annualsummit meetings alternating between Delhi andTokyo.

There has been unprecedented progress in thebilateral economic and strategic engagement inrecent years resulting in cooperation in a vast swatheof fields and the conclusion of a ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011.

In the economic sphere, the complementaritiesbetween the two countries are particularly striking.(i) Japan’s ageing population (23% above 65 years)and India’s youthful dynamism (over 50% below 25years); (ii) India’s rich natural and human resourcesand Japan’s advanced technology; (iii) India’sprowess in services and Japan’s excellence inmanufacturing; and (iv) Japan’s surplus capital forinvestments and India’s large and growing marketswith burgeoning middle class. Japanese ODA, forlong the backbone of the bilateral relationship, stillcontinues to provide long-term loans for India’sinfrastructural development. If soon New Delhi willboast of having the largest metro network in theworld, it will be due to Japanese assistance whichhelped to conceptualise and execute the prestigiousDelhi Metro Project. The Western Dedicated FreightCorridor (DFC), the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridorwith eight new industrial townships, the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor(CBIC) are all megaprojects on the anvil which will transform India inthe next decade.

2. Political:Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Japan foron 30 August – September 3, 2014 for the AnnualSummit Meeting with Prime Minster Shinzo Abe ofJapan. The two sides decided to upgrade therelationship ‘Special Strategic and GlobalPartnership’ and launched an India–JapanInvestment Promotion Partnership under whichJapan announced its intention to invest in Indiaapprox. USD 35 billion over 5 years. Prime MinisterShinzo Abe paid an official visit to India for the 8thAnnual Summit with Prime Minister from 25-27January 2014 and as the Chief Guest at the RepublicDay parade in New Delhi. Both the Prime Ministerssigned a Joint Statement sharing their vision onintensifying the India-Japan Strategic and GlobalPartnership. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michikowere on a week-long visit to India from 30 November– 6 December 2013.

Under the Parliamentary exchanges programmebetween India and Japan, the Sasakawa PeaceFoundation (SPF), in col laboration with the


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Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has beenorganizing the visit of Members of Parliament since2004. Under this exchange, so far, 10 Parliamentarydelegations have visited Japan between 2004 and2013.

3. Economic and Commercial Cooperation:Economic relations between India and Japan havevast potential for growth, given the obviouscomplementarities that exist between the two Asianeconomies. Japan's interest in India is increasingdue to variety of reasons including India's huge andgrowing market and its resources, especially thehuman resources. The signing of the historic India-Japan Comprehensive Economic PartnershipAgreement (CEPA) and its implementation fromAugust 2011 is expected to further accelerate growthof trade, economic and commercial relationsbetween the two countries. In FY 2013-14, Japan-India bilateral trade reached $16.31 billion, which is11.89% lower than $18.51 billion in the previousfiscal year. The fall in the total trade is mainly due toreduction in Japanese exports by 23.53%. However,India’s exports have risen by 4.36% in 2013-14. Theshare of the India-Japan bilateral trade has beenhovering around 1 per cent of Japan's total foreigntrade, while it was in the range of 2.2 to 2.5 per centof India's total trade in the last couple of years. India’sprimary exports to Japan have been petroleumproducts, chemicals, nonmetallic minerals, fish andfish products, metalliferrous ores and scrap, animalfeeds, iron and steel products, clothing andaccessories, textile and fabrics and machinery etc.India’s primary imports from Japan are machinery,iron and steel products, electrical machinery,transport equipment, plastic materials, metalproducts, etc.

Japanese FDI into India grew exponentially fromUS$ 139 million in 2004 to all time high of $5.55billion in 2008 due to mega deals particularlyacquisition of Ranbaxy by Daichi Sankyo. However,in 2012, Japan's FDI into India increased by 19.8%over 2011 to reach $2.8 billion. Japanese FDI intoIndia has mainly been in automobile, electricalequipment, telecommunications, chemical andpharmaceutical sectors. Japanese companies havemade an investment of $15.359 billion in Indiabetween April 2000 and December 2013. Thisaccounted for 7% of total FDI inflow into India andmade Japan the 4th largest investor in India.

Japanese automakers are moving to bolster Indianproduction bases. Japanese heavy electricalmachinery manufacturers and trading houses arealso eyeing demand stemming from India's effortsto improve its underdeveloped power infrastructure.Japan has been extending bilateral loan and grantassistance to India since 1958. Japan is the largestbilateral donor to India. Japanese ODA supportsIndia’s efforts for accelerated economic developmentparticularly in prior i ty areas l ike power,transportation, environmental projects and projectsrelated to basic human needs.

4. Science &Technology and CulturalCooperation:The Science & Technology Cooperation Agreementbetween India and Japan was signed in 1985 withMinistry of Foreign Affairs Japan and Department ofScience & Technology, India as nodal agencies onbehalf of two governments. The cooperation pickedup its momentum after establishment of India-JapanScience Council (IJSC) in the year 1993 and so far17 annual meetings of IJSC have taken place. TheIJSC activ ities include collaborative researchprojects sessions, academic seminars, exploratoryvisits by scientists from both countries and Raman-Mizushima lecture series. Under the collaborativeprojects, 6 priority themes for research in the basicsciences were identif ied. Another importantcooperation under the new science and technologyinitiative between JST and DST is a theme basedactivity. Under the S&T cooperative agreementbetween two countries, MEXT and DST have signedImplementation

Arrangement on 25 January 2014 during the visitof Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India. In 1951, Indiaestablished a scholarship system for youngJapanese scholars to study in India. Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi attended the April 1988 openingceremony of the Festival of India. The year 2012marked the 60th anniversary of establishment ofdiplomatic relations between India and Japan. IndiaCultural Centre in Tokyo was formally inauguratedduring the visit of ICCR President on 25 September2009. The Centre offers classes on Yoga, Tabla,Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Sambalpuri, Bollywooddances and Hindi and Bengali languages.

5. Indian Community:The arrival of Indians in Japan for business and


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commercial interests began in the 1870s at the twomajor open ports of Yokohama and Kobe. MoreIndians entered Japan during World War I whenJapanese products were sought to fill gaps indemand that war-torn Europe could not meet. Theold Indian community in Japan focused on tradingin textiles, commodities and electronics. In recentyears, there has been a change in the compositionof the Indian community with the arrival of a largenumber of professionals. These include ITprofessionals and engineers working for Indian andJapanese f irms as wel l as professionals inmanagement, finance, education, and S&T researchwho are engaged with multinational as well as Indianand Japanese organisations. The Nishikasai areain Tokyo is emerging as a “mini-India”. Thecommunity is engaged in a range of cultural andsocial activities. This maintains their links with themotherland and also promotes contacts with theirJapanese neighbours.

Q. The recent visit of PM of India to Japan hasbeen seen as the momentous change in the IndoJapan relationship, however Japan has not goneimmediately for Civil Nuclear deal with India. Discussthe elements of the visit which strengthen thebilateral relationship further.

Q. Recent India Japan MoU on defenceexchanges and their intention to work out anagreement for collaboration on defence technologiesreflect the new level of mutual trust and commitmentto deepen their strategic partnership in al ldimensions”. Elucidate.

Q. What are the persistent issues in the IndoJapan Nuclear Cooperation?

Current News:1. India, Japan to accelerate civil nuclear deal (Sep2014):

I. Japan PM Shinzo Abe commended India’sefforts in non-proliferation including theaffirmation that goods and technologiestransferred from Japan would not be usedfor WMD delivery systems.

II. Japan Government to remove six of India’sspace and defence—related entities from itsForeign End User List to enter intotransactions involving sensitive dual—useequipment, technology and software.

III. “Japan’s decision to remove several Indianentities from the Foreign End Users List, our

MoU on defence exchanges and ourintention to work out an agreement forcollaboration on defence technologiesreflect the new level of mutual trust andcommitment to deepen our strategicpartnership in all dimensions”

III. The two Prime Ministers affirmed theircommitment to work together for India tobecome a ful l member in the fourinternational export control regimes: NuclearSuppliers Group, Missile Technology ControlRegime, Wassenaar Arrangement andAustral ia Group, with the aim ofstrengthening the international non—proliferation efforts.

2. The nuclear thorn in India-Japan ties(Sep 2014):The recent visit to Japan by Prime Minister NarendraModi has brought into focus the ongoing India-Japannegotiations on a civil nuclear agreement. Thisremains an item of unfinished business, though bothsides have declared that it would be pursued withgreater vigour. Exactly how important is thisagreement in the context of India’s nuclearprogramme? What factors underlie the Japaneseposition?

India has embarked upon an ambitiousprogramme to step up nuclear power generation.This is to be achieved through (a) indigenouspressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR), (b) fastbreeder reactors (FBRs), and (c) importedpressurised light water reactors (PWRs) of advanceddesign sourced from suppliers such as Russia,France, the US and Japan.

India has developed its PHWRs and scaled themup to 700 megawatt electrical (MWe) capacity. Thesereactors require natural uranium fuel which is scarcein India and needs to be imported. In all other aspectssuch as reactor design, construction, operation,including heavy water production, India is fully self-sufficient.

The PHWR can also be used to produce fissileplutonium-239 for civ il or mil i tary use afterreprocessing the spent fuel.

India’s fast breeder reactor programme isadvancing rapidly. The first commercial FBR willcome on stream in Kalpakkam with 500 MWecapacity. It would be capable of transforming fertilethorium-232 (which India has in ample quantity), intofissile uranium-233, enabling India to produce thisnuclear fuel for its reactors. Uranium-233, which has


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to be produced through fuel reprocessing, can alsobe used for nuclear weapons.Short on enriched uranium:In the PWR sector, India has had some experiencewith imported reactors at Tarapore (supplied by theUS ) and Koodankulam (supplied by Russia). Thepost-1974 and post-1998 nuclear embargo on Indiamade it clear that imported low enriched uraniumfuel supply could be withheld, effectively shuttingdown these reactors.

At present, India does not have enoughcommercial uranium enrichment capacity to produceits own low enriched fuel in sufficient quantities forits PWRs. So it is dependent on imported fuel for itsPWRs. India is therefore planning to increase itsuranium enrichment capability.

India has planned to set up PWRs imported fromRussia (Koodankulam), France (Jaitapur), the USand Japan under its state-run company the NuclearPower Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

Areva of France and NPCIL are working onsetting up an advanced PWR, the EuropeanPressurised Reactor (EPR), of 1650 MWe capacityat Jaitapur, though the project is facing manyhurdles.Component dependencyThe PWR sector is dependent on Japan for supplyof some components, notably very large sizedspecial steel forgings as part of the reactor pressurevessel capable of withstanding the high pressuresand temperatures and the intense neutronbombardment from the reactor core, without failurefor over 40 years.

Typically, the pressure vessel would weigh some300 tonnes and is made from special steel over 20cm thick. The most experienced companies andlargest supplier is from Japan. Their order booksare full up to 5-6 years in the future.

A few other companies in South Korea, US,France, Russia and China are also capable ofbuilding such components. India is encouragingcompanies such as L&T, BHEL, and Bharat Forgeto develop the capability. Areva and other companieswould be severely handicapped if Japanesecomponents were not available for their PWRprojects.

The importance of an Indo-Japanese nucleardeal stems from these considerations. The hurdlesto this deal emanate from Japan’s insistence thatno reprocessing of spent fuel would be done in India,

and that in the event of a nuclear test by India, thecomponents supplied would be immediately returnedto Japan. On the other hand, India considers it shouldget the same regime applicable to nuclear weaponsstates (NWS) under the Nuclear Non-ProliferationTreaty, which it has not signed but has unilaterallyundertaken to respect. The conditions imposed onIndia are more stringent than those on countriesChina, the US and other NWS under the NPT.

Japan was one of the countries that reactedstrongly to India’s nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998. Itwas pressured by the Bush administration to agreeto the waiver given to India by the nuclear suppliersgroup (NSG).Unfair stipulationThe condition that spent fuel be returned forreprocessing is unacceptable to India as it goesbeyond what was agreed with the US and othercountries. It would also be difficult and unsafe totransport highly radioactive spent fuel acrossthousands of kilometres to the fuel supplying country.The other condition that components should bereturned in the event of a nuclear test is alsoimpossible to implement for the reason that itinvolves shutting down a reactor, and dismantlingand shipping back massive reactor vesselcomponents which would be highly radioactive.

What would be the consequences of Japancontinuing to insist on these conditions? It wouldresult in India facing delays in implementing the PWRprogramme using imported reactors and fuel. Indiawould then be compelled to step up its PHWR andFBR programmes, and also its enrichment andreprocessing capability to compensate for theshortfall in nuclear power generation. These areprogrammes where India is fully self-sufficient, andis not obliged to declare them as civilian and subjectto IAEA inspections.

The question that Japanese negotiators mustface is this: Do they wish India to enlarge itsindigenous unsafeguarded PHWR and FBRprogrammes (and possibly i ts st rategicprogrammes), or do they wish India to enlarge itsIAEA-safeguarded PWR programmes that aredependent on fuel imports? Should they give Chinamore favourable treatment than India in matters ofcivil nuclear cooperation?

If the answer is no to both questions, then theyneed to show more f lexibi l i ty in reaching areasonable agreement with India, along the lines of


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civil nuclear agreements India has signed with theUS, France, the UK, South Korea, Canada and othercountries. India has other options that it will and mustfollow in case the PWR programme is delayed dueto the lack of a civil agreement with Japan.Q. What is NGS?Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multinationalbody concerned with reducing nuclear proliferationby controlling the export and re-transfer of materialsthat may be applicable to nuclear weapondevelopment and by improving safeguards andprotection on existing materials. The NSG wasfounded in response to the Indian nuclear test inMay 1974 and first met in November 1975. The testdemonstrated that certain non-weapons specificnuclear technology could be readily turned toweapons development. As of 2014 the NSG has 48members.Q. What is Wassenaar Arrangement?The Wassenaar Arrangement (The WassenaarArrangement on Export Controls for ConventionalArms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies) is amultilateral export control regime (MECR) with 41participating states including many formerCOMECON (Warsaw Pact) countries.

The Wassenaar Arrangement has beenestablished in order to contribute to regional andinternational security and stability, by promotingtransparency and greater responsibility in transfersof conventional arms and dual-use goods andtechnologies, thus prevent ing destabil isingaccumulations.1. What is the MTCR?What are it's objective?Objectives:The MTCR seeks to limit the risks of proliferation ofweapons of mass destruction (WMD) by controllingexports of goods and technologies that could make acontribution to delivery systems (other than mannedaircraft) for such weapons.

In this context, the Regime places particular focuson rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles capable ofdelivering a payload of at least 500 kg to a range of atleast 300 km and on equipment, software, andtechnology for such systems.

India - North Korea Relations Korean War 1950-53 Kim Jong-un(2011- Now) Regime is using brute force to sustain itself and

silence dissent. Worst drought” in a century, divert attention from

crucial internal problems. Landmine blast in the DMZ Seoul should rather regain its rational restraint,

and use diplomatic means to tone downtensions. It could reach out to China.

If Beijing is serious about taking a more proactiveregional leadership role.

In a quiet but extremely significant diplomaticmove, India signalled upgraded ties with NorthKorea, by sending Minister of State for HomeKiren Rijiju to participate in an event markingthe North Korean national Independence Dayin New Delhi

PAK- N Korea Relations April, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un made

a tentative beginning by sending his ForeignMinister Ri Su Yong to Delhi.

Sitaram Yechury, who in July 2013, led a three-member parliamentary delegation to Pyongyang.

Mr. Rijiju clarified that his presence at the eventwas not a hasty decision but was part of a wellthought out diplomatic move.

North Korea is estimated to have one of thelargest global deposits of minerals and rare earthmetals necessary for India’s IT industry andelectronic majors.

Diplomats are not ruling out the possibility thata dramatic change in bilateral ties like what theU.S. achieved with Iran and Cuba could possiblyalso occur in case of North Korea. “There is arush for strategic resources in the countries likeNorth Korea that were blockaded andsanctioned away from global economy. Indiashould be an early bird in North Korea just incase North Korean economic ties with the worldundergo change in near future”

“the parliamentary delegation of 2011 was sentto Pyongyang after considering the SouthKorean sentiments.”

Kim Il SungKim Jong IlKim Jong Ul


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India - South Korea RelationsBilateral consular relations were established in 1962.In 1973, relations were upgraded to Ambassador-level (also with Pyongyang). In course of time, RoK'sopen market policies found resonance with India'seconomic liberalization and 'Look East Policy'.Consistent Indian support for peaceful reunificationof the two Koreas has been well received in thiscountry. Korean Buddhist Monk Hyecho or Hong Jiaovisited India from 723 to 729 AD. His travelogue"Pilgrimage to the five kingdoms of India" gives avivid account of Indian culture, politics & society,including food habits, languages & climate.NobelLaureate Rabindranath Tagore composed a shortbut evocative poem – 'Lamp of the East' - in 1929about Korea's glorious past and its promising brightfuture. India played an important and positive rolein Korean affairs after Korea's independence in1945. Mr K P S Menon of India was the Chairman ofthe 9-member UN Commission set up in 1947 tohold elections in Korea. The successful generalelections held for the first time in the South in 1948,led to the establishment of the Republic of Korea on15th August 1948. During the Korean War (1950-53), both the warring sides accepted a resolutionsponsored by India, and the ceasefire was declaredon 27 July 1953.

A delegation of Indian Parliamentarians visitedROK on 26-27 July 2013 to participate in the eventsto commemorate the 60th anniversary of theArmistice Agreement. The State Visit to RoK byPresident Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, in February 2006heralded a new vibrant phase in India-RoK relations.It inter alia led to the launch of a Joint Task Force toconclude a bilateral Comprehensive EconomicPartnership Agreement (CEPA), which was signedby Minister for Commerce and Industry Shri AnandSharma at Seoul on August 7, 2009.

President Lee paid a landmark visit to India, asChief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations on26 January 2010, when bilateral ties were raised tothe level of Strategic Partnership. India ROK CEPAwas operational zed on 1st January 2010. A slew ofimportant agreements were concluded during thevisit. It was followed by President Smt. PratibhaDevisingh Patil's State Visit to RoK from 24-27 July2011 when the Civil Nuclear Energy CooperationAgreement was signed.

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid anofficial visit to Seoul from 24-27 March 2012 for bothbilateral and Nuclear Security Summits, which ledto the deepening of the bi lateral StrategicPartnership. PM had earlier v isited Seoul fromNovember 10-12, 2010 for the G20 Summit.

Traditionally close bilateral relations have beenelevated to a qualitative higher level, with the statevisit to India of President Park Geun-hye from 15 to18 January 2014. In the ‘Joint Statement forExpansion of Strategic Partnership’ she and thePrime Minister of India, have unveiled a blue printfor further expanding the political security, defence,economic, scientific & technological, IT, cultural andpeople-to-people relations. Bilateral relations areanchored on a strong economic foundation. CEPAin particular facilitated rapid expansion of tradevolume. Bilateral trade in 2011 crossed $20.5 billionregistering a 70% growth over a two year period. Arevised trade target of $40 billion by 2015 wasestablished by PM. Singh and President Lee on 25March 2012. The trade has since declined a bit to$17.57 billion (in 2013) and $18.84 billion (in 2012).

Major Korean conglomerates (Chaebols) suchas Samsung, Hyundai Motors and LG have madesignificant investments into India, estimated at over$3 billion. Indian investments in ROK have alreadyexceeded $2 billion. There are officially 603 largeand small Korean firms, which have offices in India.Novelis, a Hindalco subsidiary, acquired a Koreanaluminium company by investing about $600 million(Their total investment in ROK is nearing the $2billion now). Mahindra & Mahindra acquired amajority stake in SsangYong Motors, the country's4th largest auto manufacturer, in March 2011, withan investment of about $360 million. Tata Motorsacquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company for$102 million in March 2004.

India-RoK Joint Commission for bi lateralcooperation was established in February 1996,which is chaired by the External Affairs Minister(EAM) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs from theKorean side. So far, seven meetings of the JointCommission have been held, the last being on 9thNovember 2013 in New Delhi. The third India-ROKForeign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) atSecretary (Vice-Ministerial) level was held in Seoulon 2nd September 2013.

To further enhance cultural exchanges betweenIndian and Korea, an Indian Cultural Centre (ICC)


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was established in RoK in April 2011. An inauguralFestival of India in Korea was held from June 2011to March 2012 with a visit by Dr. Karan Singh,President of ICCR, for the inauguration.

In 2013, a total of 70,713 visas were issued bythe Mission as compared to 79,028 in 2012. This ismostly attributable to the issuance of large numberof long-term multiple entry visas. The actual numberof travellers between the two countries appears tohave gone up as a result.

Indian Community in RoK is estimated at 10,500,which includes businessmen, IT professionals,scientists, research fellows, students and workers.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and DelhiUniversity (DU) offer programmes in Korea Studiesand Korean Language Courses respectively. MadrasUniversity has also opened a Department of KoreanStudies encouraged by the sizeable presence ofKoreans including Hyundai Motors in Tamil Nadu.

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy ofAdministration, Mussoorie has established aninstitutional partnership with Korea DevelopmentInstitute (KDI) School of Public Policy & Management.Since 2010, eight batches of IAS officers have cometo Korea for a two week study tour as part of theirmid-career or advanced training. The last group ofIAS officers visited RoK in May 2013.

Government of India offers scholarships andfellowships to meritorious Korean nationals everyyear to study in India in recognized Indianuniversities/educational institutions. These ICCRscholarships are available for various programmesand disciplines covering research work and non-formal courses (Religion, Classical Music, Danceand Crafts).

Ayush Scholarship Scheme facilitates coursesin Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Yoga and Homeopathy,while many Korean students are also learning Hindilanguage at the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra.

A tourism 'Road Show' was held in Seoul inFebruary 2013 during the visit of a Ministry of Tourismdelegation led by Secretary Mr. Parvez Dewan. Closeto 90 travel agents and media representativesparticipated in the event. Over 110,000 Korean touriststravelled to India in 2012 making them one of the top15 nationalities visiting India.

India was 'guest of honour' country for the firsttime at the Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) from19-23 June 2013, which facilitated tie-ups betweenthe Indian and Korean publishers.

WEST ASIA

India - Israel RelationsI. BackgroundIndia announced its recognition of Israel onSeptember 17, 1950. Soon thereafter, the JewishAgency established an immigration office in Bombay.Embassies were opened in 1992 when full diplomaticrelations were established.

Since the upgradation of relations in 1992,defence and agriculture formed the two main pillarsof our bilateral engagement. The future vision of thecooperation is of a strong hi-tech partnership asbefits two knowledge economies.

II. VisitsPM of Israel in India in 2003, Then External AffairsMinister Shri S M Krishna visited Israel in 2012,which marked the 20th anniversary of establishmentof full diplomatic relations between India and Israel.

III. Economic and Commercial RelationsFrom US$ 200 million in 1992 (comprising primarilytrade in diamonds), bilateral merchandise trade hasdiversified and reached US$ 5.19 billion in 2011.However, the past few years have seen a decline intotal trade due to the global economic recession. In2013, the bilateral trade stood at US$ 6.01 billionwith the balance of trade in Israel’s favour. Trade indiamonds constitutes over half of bilateral trade. In2013, India was Israel's tenth largest trade partneroverall, and Israel's third largest trade partner in Asiaafter China and Hong Kong. Potash is a major itemof Israel’s exports to India, with India buying asignificant percentage of its requirement from Israel.Free Trade AgreementSince 2010 the two sides are negotiating an FTAcovering trade in goods and services and the eighthround was held in Israel in November 2013.InvestmentIsrael is 43rd largest investor in India. While officialdata about India’s investment in Israel is notavailable, significant investments from India in Israelinclude 100% acquisition of Israeli drip-irrigationcompany Naandan by Jain Irrigation, Sun Pharma’s66% stake in Taro Pharmaceuticals and TriveniEngineering Industries’ investment in Israeli waste-


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water treatment company Aqwise. TCS startedoperations in Israel in 2005, and the State Bank ofIndia opened a branch in Tel Aviv in 2007.

IV. AgricultureIndia and Israel have a bilateral agreement forcooperation in agriculture. Under the bilateral ActionPlan for 2012-2015, agricultural cooperation hasbeen expanded to seven states including Haryana,Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, TamilNadu and Punjab. Around ten India-Israel Centresof Excellence for cooperation in agriculture havebeen set-up so far, of the thirty centres that areexpected to be established by 2015.

India has benefited from Israeli expertise andtechnologies in horticulture mechanization,protected cul tivat ion, orchard and canopymanagement, nursery management, micro- irrigationand post-harvest management particularly inHaryana and Maharashtra. Israeli drip irrigationtechnologies and products are now widely used inIndia. Some Israeli companies and experts areproviding expertise to manage and improve dairyfarming in India through their expertise in high milkyield.

V. Defence & SecurityThere are regular exchanges between the armedforces. Four Indian naval ships from the WesternFleet made a port call in Haifa in Aug 2012.

There is cooperation on security issues andthere is a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorismthat meets periodically. In February 2014, India andIsrael signed three important agreements on MutualLegal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Cooperationin Homeland and Public Security, and Protection ofClassified Material.

VI. Cooperation in S&TUnder an MOU on Industrial Research andDevelopment Initiative signed in 2005, a jointindustrial R&D fund i4RD was set up to promotebilateral industrial R&D and specific projects.Under i4RD, joint projects by the industry arefunded, involving at least one Indian and oneIsrael i company. Since the launch of thisprogramme in 2006, seven projects have beenapproved.

In January 2014, India and Israel held extensivediscussions to establish an India-Israel CooperationFund aimed at promoting innovations through joint

scientific and technological collaborations. The Fundis envisaged to have a total corpus of US$ 40 millionover a period of f ive years, with each sidecontributing US$ 20 million. On the Indian side, theDepartment of Science and Tehnology is the nodalDeaprtment.

VII. Culture and EducationIndia is a destination of choice for over 40,000Israelis who visit India every year for tourism andbusiness. This is the largest number of tourists froman Asian country. India has signed an MoU with TelAviv University for a Chair for Indian studies in theDepartment of East and South East Asian Studiesunder which Indian Professors have been comingfor a semester.

In May 2013, India and Israel launched a newfunding programme of joint academic research, thefirst round of which will focus on both exact sciencesand humanities. Each government is contributingUS$ 5 million annually for five years. The programmewill provide support for nearly 50 collaborationsproviding up to US$ 300,000 for an experimentalproject or US$180,000 for a theoretical project forup to three years. The couterpart organisations areUniversity Grants Commission and the IsraelScience Foundation.

Since 2012, Israel offers post-doctoralscholarships to students from India and China in allfields over a period of three years. India offers sevenICCR scholarships and Know India Scholarships toIsraelis every year.

VIII. Indian CommunityThere are approximately 80,000 Jews of Indian-origin in Israel, most of whom are now Israelipassport holders. The main waves of immigrationinto Israel from India took place in the fifties andsixties.

The majority is from Maharashtra (BeneIsraelis) and relatively smaller numbers from Kerala(Cochini Jews) and Kolkata (Baghdadi Jews). Inrecent years some Indian Jews from North Easternstates of India (Bnei Menache) hav e beenimmigrating to Israel.

There are about 10,000 Indian citizens in Israel,of whom around 8,000 are care-givers. Others arediamond traders, some IT professionals, studentsand unskilled workers.


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India-Palestine RelationsI. BackgroundIndia’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and itsattitude to the Palestinian question was given voiceduring our freedom struggle by Mahatma Gandhi.India’s empathy with the Palestinian cause and itsfriendship with the people of Palestine have becomean integral part of our time-tested foreign policy. In1947, India voted against the partition of Palestineat the United Nations General Assembly. India wasthe first Non-Arab State to recognize PLO as soleand legitimate representative of the Palestinianpeople in 1974. India was one of the first countriesto recognize the State of Palestine in 1988. In 1996,India opened its Representative Office to thePalestine Authority in Gaza, which later was shiftedto Ramallah in 2003.

II. Bilateral VisitLate President Yasser Arafat visited India severaltimes. President Mahmoud Abbas visited India inthe years 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012. L.K. Advani,Union Home Minister in 2000, ShriJaswant Singh,External Affairs Minister in 2000, and Shri E.Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs in 2004,2007, 2011 and 2013, Shri S.M. Krishna, ExternalAffairs Minister in January 2012.

III. Projects implementedWith the Government of India’s aid, two projects werecompleted in the field of higher education i.e.Jawaharlal Nehru Library at the Al Azhar Universityin Gaza city and the Mahatma Gandhi Library-cum-Student Activity Centre at the Palestine TechnicalCollege at Deir Al Balah in the Gaza Strip. UnderIndia-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Forum’s assistance,three projects have been approved and are in theprocess of implementation. An Indoor Multi-purposeSports Complex has been constructed in Ramallah,Al Quds hospital in Gaza is in the process of beingreconstructed, a rehabilitation centre in Nablus hasbeen launched. Presently, two schools are beingconstructed in West Bank, Palestine through aidprovided by India.

IV. Monetary AssistanceDuring the visit of President Abbas to India in theyear 2008, Prime Minister announced a grant of US$10 million as budgetary support and this was

transferred to the Government authorities here inMarch 2009. During the visit of President Abbas toIndia in February 2010, Prime Minister announceda budgetary support of US$ 10 million and this wastransferred in the month of March 2010. PrimeMinister also announced a grant of US$ 10 millionas budgetary support to Palestine during the visit ofPresident Abbas in 2012. So far, we have transferredUS$ 1 million and the rest is yet to be transferred.Project Assistance:India has announced project assistance to a tune ofUS$ 30 million.In the Paris DonorsConference in December 2007, India announced afresh commitment of US$ 5 million.So far oneproject, Embassy of Palestine in New Delhi, hasbeen completed.

V. Scholarships and ITEC training for PalestinianNationals:India offers eight scholarships for Palestinian underICCR. India has been offering 100 slots for trainingcourses under the ITEC programme. Indian Visasfor Palestinian Nationals: On September 25, 2013the Representative Office of India, Ramallah startedissuance of Visa f rom its Off ice. Presently,Palestinian nationals obtain Visas within a span of 3working days.

VI. Trade:All imports are channelized through Israel, the exactvolume of trade could not be ascertained.

VII. People To PeopleIt is estimated that around 12,000 Palestiniansgraduated from India. Palestinians graduated fromIndia feel grateful for the opportunity and supportthey received from India. Palestinian leadership andthe people consider India as a true friend.

India-Saudi Arabia RelationsI. BackgroundIndia and Saudi Arabia enjoy cordial and friendlyrelations reflecting the centuries old economic andsocio-cultural ties. The establishment of diplomaticrelations in 1947 was followed by high-level visitsfrom both sides. King Saud visited India in 1955 andthe Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited theKingdom in 1956. The visit of the Prime Minister


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Indira Gandhi to Saudi Arabia in 1982 further boostedthe bilateral relations. In the recent times, the historicvisit of King Abdullah to India in 2006 resulted insigning of ‘Delhi Declaration’ imparting a freshmomentum to the bilateral relationship. The visitprovided the framework for cooperation in all fieldsof mutual interest. The reciprocal visit by PrimeMinister Dr. Manmohan Singh to Saudi Arabia in2010 raised the level of bilateral engagement to‘Strategic Partnership’ and the ‘Riyadh Declaration’signed during the visit captured the spirit ofenhanced cooperation in political, economic, securityand defence realms. In February 2014, crown princevisited India.

II. Bilateral AgreementsThe bilateral Agreements and MoUs signed areas follows:1. Signing of ‘Delhi Declaration’ in 2006 during the

visit of King Abdullah; it laid the roadmap forbilateral cooperation;

2. Signing of ‘Riyadh Declaration’ in 2010 duringPrime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit toRiyadh. It raised the level of interaction to‘Strategic Partnership’.

3. Bilateral Promot ion and Protection ofInvestments (BIPA);

4. Agreement on Avoidance of DoubleTaxation(DTAA);

5. Extradition Treaty;6. Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons;7. MoU for Cooperation in Peaceful Use of Outer

Space;8. MoU between Centre for Development of

Adv ance Computing (C-DAC) and KingAbdulaziz City for Science & Technology(KACST) on cooperation in Informat ionTechnology and Services;

9. Agreement on News Cooperation between SaudiPress Agency (SPA) and Press Trust of India (PTI);

10. Agreement on Labour Cooperation for DomesticService Workers Recruitment.

III. Economic and Commercial RelationsSaudi Arabia is the 4th largest trade partner of Indiaand the bilateral trade was USD 48.75 billion in 2013-14. The import of crude oil by India forms a majorcomponent of bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia beingIndia’s largest supplier of crude oil, accounting foralmost one-fifth of its needs. During the current year,Saudi Arabia is the 6th largest market in the world

for Indian exports and is destination of more than3.91% of India’s global exports.

IV.Cultural tiesA 54-member cultural delegation visited the Kingdomto participate in the ‘Indian Cultural Week’, organizedin Riyadh in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry ofCulture from November 3-7, 2012.

V. Indian Community in Saudi ArabiaThe 2.5 million plus strong Indian community inSaudi Arabia is the largest expatriate community inthe Kingdom and is the ‘most preferred community’due to their expertise, sense of discipline, law abidingand peace loving nature. The contribution made byIndian community to the development of SaudiArabia is well acknowledged. In April 2013, HisMajesty King Abdullah announced a grace periodallowing overstaying expatriates to correct the status,get new jobs or leave the country without facingpenal action till the end of the grace period i.e.November 3, 2013. More than 1.4 million (14 lakhs)Indians have availed the concessions during thegrace period. The Haj pi lgrimage is anotherimportant component of bilateral relations. DuringHaj 2013, 135,938 Indians visited the Kingdom toperform Haj.

India-Iran Relation1. Background:The two countries shared a border till 1947.Independent India and Iran established diplomaticlinks on 15 March 1950. In addition to the Embassyin Tehran, India currently has two Consulates in Iran- Bandar Abbas and Zahedan. The Shah visited Indiain February/March 1956 and Prime Minister PanditJawaharlal Nehru visited Iran in September 1959.Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi visited Iran in April1974 and Prime Minister Shri Morarji Desai visitedin June 1977. The Shah, in turn, visited India inFebruary 1978.

The Iranian Revolution in 1979 introduced a newphase of engagement. The trend was consolidatedand enhanced at the turn of the millennium with visitsby Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001and a return visit by President Mohammad Khatamiin 2003, when he was also the Chief Guest at theRepublic Day function. The Iranian President Dr.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited India on 29 April 2008.


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Current President: Hassan Rouhani (Since Aug2013) Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visitedIran to attend the 16th Nonaligned Movement (NAM)summit held in Tehran on 28-31 August 2012. (2015NAM Summit in Venezuela).

Hon’ble External Affairs Minister Shri. SalmanKhurshid (EAM) visited Tehran for the 17th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting on 03-05 May 2013.

Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri M. HamidAnsari graced the Swearing-in ceremony of thenewly elected Iranian President Dr. Hassan Rowhanion 04 August 2013. In November 2011 Hon’bleSpeaker of Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar paid anofficial visit to Iran leading a multi-party Parliamentarydelegation on the invitation of Majlis Speaker Dr. AliLarijani. She inaugurated a tableau of GurudevRabindranath’s poem on Iran in the Majlis museum.Dr. Larijani made a return bilateral visit to India on24-28 February 2013.

During the visit of Nirupama Rai in 2011, bothsides exchanged the Instrument of Ratification forthe Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Prisonerssigned in July 2010 thereby operationalizing theAgreement.

2. Trade & CommerceThe India-Iran bilateral trade during the fiscal 2012-13 was USD 14.95 billion. India imported US$ 11.6billion worth of goods manly crude oil and exportedcommodities worth US$ 3.35 billion. India’s exportto Iran during the period April-November 2013 stoodat USD 3.21 billion. The unilateral economicsanctionsimposed on Iran have had an adverseeffect on the bilateral trade as theinternationalbanking channels have gradually become non-existent. (Note: See the table).

3. India and I ran hold regular bi lateraldiscussions on economic and trade issues withinthe framework of India-Iran Joint CommissionMeeting (JCM). The 17th India- Iran JointCommission was held in Tehran on May 4, 2013.The Session was cochaired by Shri. SalmanKhurshid, External Affairs Minister of India and H.E.Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Foreign Minister of IslamicRepublic of Iran. During the visit, the two sidessigned the following Memorandum of Understanding(MoUs): (i) MOU between Institute of Standards andIndustrial Research of Islamic Republic of Iran (ISIRI)and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). (ii) MOUbetween the Foreign Service Institute, Ministry ofExternal Affairs, Republic of India and School of

International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Islamic Republic of Iran. (iii) MOU between theGov ernment of Republic of India and theGovernment of Islamic Republic of Iran oncooperation in the f ield of water resourcesmanagement.

In December 2012, a weeklong India TeaFestival was also organized in Tehran to sensitizethe Iranian public about the specialties of Indian tea.

4. Cultural Relations:On 03 May 2013 Shri. Salman Khurshid, Hon’bleExternal Affairs Minister of India, off icial lyinaugurated the India Cultural Center in Tehran,when he visited Iran for the 17th India-Iran JointCommission Meeting (JCM). A week long India-Irancultural festival from 7-12 June, 2012 was organizedin collaboration with ‘Iranian Artists Forum’ in Tehran.Embassy has also been bringing out a bi-monthlymagazine named “Ain-e-Hind’ (Mirror of India) takingIndia to the drawing rooms of the general Iranianpublic.

5. Indian community:The Indian community in Iran, which was sizeableearlier, has dwindled and now it is a small oneconsisting of about 100 families in Tehran and about20 in Zahedan. There are a number of Indianstudents in Iran, approximately 800, a large numberof whom pursue theological studies in Qom. Thereis an Indian school run by the Kendriya VidyalayaSangathan in Tehran and another in Zahedan.

There are about 8,000 Iranian students studyingin India. India provides 67 scholarships every yearto Iranian students under ITEC, ICCR, Colombo Planand IOR-ARC schemes.

India over the years has emerged as one of thefavourite tourist destinations for Iranian tourists andevery year around 40,000 Iranians visit India forvar ious purposes. In February 2011, Indiasuccessfully outsourced the tourist visa collectionin Tehran to facilitate the visa services for Iraniantourists visiting India. Regular meetings of the JointConsular Committee is held to discuss consular andother related issues aimed at facilitating people topeople exchanges between the two countries andaddressing the concerns of Indians resident in Iranand Iranians resident in India. The latest round ofConsular Committee meeting was held in Tehran inMay 2014.


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The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action:It is an international agreement on the nuclearprogram of Iran signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015between Iran, the P5+1 (the five permanentmembers of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, UnitedStates—plus Germany), and the European Union.

Formal negotiations toward the JointComprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclearprogram began with the adoption of the Joint Planof Action—an interim agreement on the Iraniannuclear program signed between Iran and the P5+1countries—in November 2013. For the next twentymonths, Iran and the P5+1 countries engaged innegotiations, and in Apri l 2015 agreed on aframework agreement for the final agreement. In July2015, Iran and the P5+1 agreed on the JointComprehensive Plan of Action.

Under the agreement, Iran agreed to eliminateits stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut itsstockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, andreduce by about two-thirds the number of itscentrifuges for at least fifteen years. For the nextfifteen years, Iran will only enrich uranium up to3.67%. Iran also agreed not to build any newuranium-enriching or heavy-water facilities over the

same period. Uranium-enrichment activities will belimited to a single facility using first-generationcentrifuges for ten years. Other facilities will beconverted to avoid proliferation risks. To monitor andverify Iran's compliance with the agreement, theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will haveregular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities. Theagreement provides that in return for verifiablyabiding by its commitments, Iran will receive relieffrom U.S., European Union, and United NationsSecurity Council nuclear-related sanctions.

2. N-S Corridor:The International North–South Transport Corridor isthe ship, rail, and road route for moving freightbetween India, Russia, Iran, Europe and CentralAsia. The route primarily involves moving freight fromIndia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail androad. The objective of the corridor is to increase tradeconnectivity between major cities such as Mumbai,Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan,Bandar Anzali and etc. Dry runs of two routes wereconducted in 2014, the first was Mumbai to Bakuvia Bandar Abbas and the second was Mumbai toAstrakhan via Bandar Abbas, Tehran and BandarAnzali.

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