Official Spokesperson (Shri Syed Akbaruddin):Good evening friends. Today is a busy news day although it is the end of the week, and there are lots of issues that I suppose you may be interested in. So, apologise for coming a bit late.
I have one announcement to make and it will be followed by any questions that you may want to ask on that or on anything else. So, let me begin, as is the usual practice, by making that announcement which is about the visit of the Secretary-General of the Arab League Dr. Nabil El-Araby to New Delhi from the 16th to the 18thof December. December 17 is his main day of engagement where he will meet the External Affairs Ministerand also call on the Vice-President.
The focus of the discussions between the Arab League Secretary-General and the External Affairs Minister is to update the Memorandum of Understanding that we have with the 22-nation Arab League to make it more effective and to elevate the level of interaction between the representatives ofmember states of the Arab League and India. The Secretary-General will also interact with the media after his meetings with the External Affairs Minister.
As you know, India has a historical and civilisational link with the Arab world. We have extremely good relations. Our total trade with the Arab world is in the vicinity of about US$ 200 billion. A significant amount of that comes from of course the Gulf but I include in this figure the entire Arab world.
We also have approximately more than 60 per cent of our oil being sourced from the Arab world or the Middle East. And we look forward to elevating our relationship with the League of Arab States in the context of our growing interest in the region and the Arab world in general.
That is the announcement I have to make. I am now open to questions on that or on anything else that is of interest to you. As is usual, let us finish the questions on the Arab world and then take up questions on anything else.
Question:…(Inaudible)…
Official Spokesperson: The visit is from 16thto 18th of December. The main day of engagement, the day when all the major engagements are, is the 17th. As I said, there will also be a media interaction subsequent to the meeting between the External Affairs Minister and Dr. Nabil El-Araby. You are perhaps aware that Dr. Nabil El-Araby is an old friend of India. He was Egyptian Ambassador here many years ago.
Question:You mentioned that one of the main areas that we are looking at during his visit is the updating of the MoU with the Arab League. Could you just let us understand a little more about what the update is about?
Official Spokesperson: Charu, right now I can give you a tantalising glimpse and that I have done. As I said – elevating, enhancing the mechanism, makingit
more effective. Wait till the meeting is done and then you will have the outcome of that based on these three“e”sthat I have outlined to you.
Question:Sir, this is regarding the incident in New York about Devyani. Her family members say that the domestic help has blackmailed her. Meanwhile the other issue is, can a diplomat be arrested other than it is a murder or whatever? Is not there something called diplomatic immunity? And if there is, how did this happen and are we taking it up with the Americans? What are the facts of the case as you have it?
Official Spokesperson: Shrinjoy, let me start by saying that Dr. Devyani Khobragade is a diplomat who is in the US in pursuance ofher duties and hence is entitled to the courtesy due to a diplomat in the country of her work. She is also a young mother of two small children. We are shocked and appalled at the manner in which she has been humiliated by the US authorities. We have taken this up forcefully with the US Government through our Embassy in Washington. We are also reiterating in no uncertain terms to the US Embassy here that this kind of treatment to one of our diplomats is absolutely unacceptable. The Ministry of External Affairs is working to resolve the matter at the earliest.
As regards the facts of the case, our Embassy in Washington has put out a press release and these are available,as we perceive them. If there are issues of a legal nature, these will be resolved separately. And you would appreciate that at this stage I would not be in a position to go into the legal issues if there are any. But as far as we are concerned, this sort of behaviour towards an Indian diplomat is completely unacceptable.
Question:Sir, this is second such incident related to maids and Indian diplomats in the US. Considering the allegation which has been made by the US that facts had been misinterpreted and they are calling it fraud to obtain a visa for the maid by showing a fraudulent contract with her, promising to pay her ten dollars an hour, considering that this is second such incident involving maids in the US, would there be some kind of an advisory by the MEA to its diplomats?
Official Spokesperson: Vikas, I understand your need to probe this case further. But as I mentioned to you earlier, given that these have some legal issues involved we will use the appropriate forum to respond to that. We are open to responding in other mechanisms to any of this because there is nothing thataccounts for
humiliating publically a young woman with two small children, a person who has beensent as a diplomat
to represent her country.
We will take issues of legal nature separately but there is no justification or acceptability of what has happened this morning to a young Indian diplomat who was there to drop her children in school. This is simply not acceptable to us.
Question:Could you just give us a little more in terms of what you are asking the US to do? In a sense the US Attorney’s office seems to be very clear about the charges that they have put against her, and has made a point of saying on its website in its statement that in fact this has nothing to do with her duties when it comes to diplomatic duties. So, she is being treated as an ordinary citizen who has in fact committed what they think is a visa fraud and a criminal charge. In fact in addition to what Vishal was saying is that it is not the second but the third such case in three years, is there a specific problem here because all of them seem to emanate from the Consular General of New York?
Official Spokesperson: Suhasini, I understand your desire to understand this thing in a broader perspective and we certainly will provide you that information. However, nothing that we say today should impinge on what is a substantive issue which we will contest substantially. But that does not absolve the US authorities of having humiliated and traumatised an Indian diplomat who is in the US performing her duties. We will take those other issues up in the fora that they desire and try and resolve it. For the present, please be patient with us because anything that we say may have an impact on what is a delicate matter which we are trying to resolve. So, I ask and seek your indulgence for some space and time as we work to resolve this issue.
Question:Sir, do Indian diplomats get an allowance for this maid thing abroad? And would you be considering an increase in allowance considering that there is this need to be thrifty as well as to keep a 24-hour person to look after?
Official Spokesperson: Sandip, it is a well-known fact that anybody who works withthe
Government of India gets paid. So, I think it is quite disturbing that you ask whether an allowance is paid. Obviously anybody who works will be paid for it. As I said, again I do not want to get into the details for the simple reason we will have a briefing for all of you on this matter when things are a bit clearer. We are right now in the process of resolving this issue. Anything that we say should not impinge on the facts of the case or on the substance of the matter. So, I would request you to bear with us in terms of seeking information on the substance. We put out what our perception is; they put out what their perception is. There are fora to work this out and we will work that out. But working this out does not in any way justify what has happened this morning. We certainly feel that this is unacceptable, and we will take this up extremely seriously.
Question:Just taking on from what Sandip has asked, when a diplomat takes someone to help or him, who pays that person, who pays the maid? It must be their personal thing.
Official Spokesperson: Let me repeat. It is a very complex issue because whoever travels on behalf of Government of India has a passport issued by the Government of India as an official. We have a case, we will make that case. I do not want to make that here in front of everybody because if there is a legal case, we will provide for that legal case. Who pays for it, how much the Government of India pays for it varies from place to place. We will try and explain to you the entire panorama of that situation.
But nothing that we say should in anyway adversely impact on a case where we are confident that we will be able to justify.So, please hold on. The facts of the case, there is a forum for explaining that and we will explain that. I understand your interest and concern in this, but it should not override our ability to make that case in the proper fora. Please understand that.
Question:Akbar, we have over 30 structured dialogues between India and the United States. Do not you have a mechanism to address these issues? Given that an Indian diplomat is humiliated publicly, and given your strong reaction, do not we have a way to resolve these issues more amicably? And where do things go wrong?
Official Spokesperson: I take your point. These are first of all isolated incidents. Therefore, these need to be resolved as they happen. There is no system that everything can be covered in any number of dialogues. So, while we do have a Consular Dialogue with the US on matters of a consular nature, these are matters relating to diplomatic and consular privileges, rights covered under the conventions which are agreed to multilaterally. So, we will take this up and discuss bilaterally. Different people can have different interpretations but that does not mean that you can humiliate a youngdiplomat who is also the mother of two small children publiclywhen she goes to drop her children to school.
Question:Are Indian diplomats not aware of US labour laws that they keep getting into trouble where hiring housekeepers and maids is concerned? I am told this is the third incident of its kind. Why does it happen again and again?
Official Spokesperson: I think if you have read the statement put out by our Embassy in Washington, it clearly states that a court in Delhi had given an order. So, please do not think that there was a lack of awareness. There was already a judicial recourse taken by that young Indian woman diplomat. There is a court judgment from that case which has been given. So, let us not jump to conclusions about lack of knowledge. There is enough knowledge. There is a legal process. And in this case she did follow that process.
But please try and understand that at this stage we do not want to get into further details and try and explain to you the entire expanse because this case will be made, it will be made forcefully, it will be made clearly and we will try and resolve this issue.
Question:This is regarding President Karzai’s meeting with the Prime Minister. What is India’s stand on Afghanistan’s Bilateral Security Agreement with America? What is India’s advice to President Karzai?
Official Spokesperson: President Karzai is currently on his thirteenth visit to India. This is the fifth in the last three years. It shows the intensity of our relationship. It shows alsothe degree of belief in each other, that our destinies are intertwined. President Karzai right now, a little later today, will be completing his official working part of the visit, that is, he is to meet the President of India. And ordinarily we do not comment on a visit while it is ongoing. However, I will try and respond to you in the sense of giving you an idea of what our approach to this matter is.
If you would like to know whether the BSA was discussed, the answer to that is yes. It was discussed because India and Afghanistan feel our destinies are intertwined. Both India and Afghanistan see the BSA as important for the stability and security of Afghanistan. As you are aware, our approach to Afghanistan has always been one of not being prescriptive, not being intrusive, and not being judgmental. Therefore, while we will have a little bit more to say to you at the end of the visit, you would appreciate that this is the paradigm through which we approach this matter.
We are confident that President Karzai is a sagacious and wise leader, and he will do what is best for the people of Afghanistan. As a close and steadfast friend of Afghanistan and in accordance with the Indian approach to Afghanistan, we will support it.
But you will have to wait for further details. I assure you that we are working on a more detailed explanation of all the issues that are discussed during the visit.
Question:Sir, Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue in OIC. What is India’s reaction on that?
Official Spokesperson: You are right and we note with regret that the OIC has once again made factually incorrect and misleading references to matters internal to India including the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral part of India. We reject all such references and resolutions. The OIC has no locus standi on matters concerning the internal affairs of India or the recent incidents on the LOC.
Question:Sir, my question is on Bangladesh. The situation is so volatile there that it is very difficult to put all the questions in a single format. Still I am trying my best.
When the Foreign Secretary met the US Secretary of State, I saw a PTI report stating that the situation inside Bangladesh was also discussed. Yesterday Quader Molla was hanged. After that a lot of violence has taken place today. What would be India’s line of thinking on this issue? How do you approach this issue?
Official Spokesperson: I think you have asked three questions and I will try and answer all three of them so that you do not ever feel that we are evasive on this.
Yes, when the Foreign Secretary did go, and even previously, we have had discussions on regional issues in South Asia, as we have done before, with the US. And the issue of the situation as you indicated in Bangladesh did come up. We have acknowledged this previously also that there have been conversations betweenIndia and USas we
are engaged in a strategic partnership which covers a variety of regional, international and bilateral issues, we do cover issues in the region including in this case the issue related to Bangladesh. That is the first point that I would like to make.
The second point is that we proceed with our relations with Bangladesh on the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit, non-interference and respect for each other’s sovereignty. Our relations with Bangladesh are broad based and inclusive. India has always respected and will always respect the wishes of the people of Bangladesh. It is for the people of Bangladesh to decide their future. We have deep respect for their wisdom and achievements. And we are confident that as a democracy the people of Bangladesh will resolve their differences through dialogue and peaceful means in an atmosphere free of violence.
That brings me to your last question. The execution of the death sentence of Abdul Quader Molla the Assistant Secretary-General of Jamaat-e-Islami, is an outcome of the internal judicial processes and laws of Bangladesh. I hope I have covered all the three areas even though they were encapsulated into one question.
Question:Sir, back to Afghanistan. Last time when President Karzai was here in India he had openly demanded arms and other logistical help. Has this issue come up this time too and whether India has any stand on that?
Official Spokesperson: I think you are so eager you would like to jump the gun. I suggested to you that at the end of the day when all the discussions are over we will provide you a more detailed statement on all areas that we have discussed.
Question:I am not asking you whether you have discussed this particular issue but I would like to know, given the emphasis that has been there on the issue of Afghanistan as well as other points – though you spoke of issues of our interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan and also respect for non-interference and the principle of sovereignty – what is the view that the MEA takes on the Afghan President’s own Spokesman having spoken of Washington trying to incite people in the present regime against President Karzai with whom we are holding talks? When I say incitement I mean the US Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defence, all of them saying that it is not necessary for the President to sign the BSA.
Official Spokesperson: I think what I had on the BSA I have told you. I would suggest that from those you can draw inferences of what our position is. If you read it carefully, the answer to your question is already there. That said, if you would like to wait, wait for some more time, a couple of hours perhaps, and you will have a more detailed version. I have shared what I can at this stage and I think that question already stands answered, if you read carefully what I have said.
Question:What is the status of the Indo-Myanmar border issue in Manipur?
Official Spokesperson: I think you are new to covering issues which I handle. My view has always been that what happens on the border is handled by the sentinels of the border. I deal only with the political implications of those. If there are issues happening on the border, I suggest that you direct your questions to those who have responsibility of that border. In this case it would be the Ministry of Home Affairs which deals with that.
Question:I will be happy if you just clear the statement of the US NSA on the snooping and surveillance. Is the Indian Government satisfied with the statement?
Official Spokesperson: I have not seen that statement if it is just a new one. So, I am not aware of that. But I will have a look at that statement and I am willing to respond to you and to send it across to everybody if there is a new statement.
Question:What is the update on the Japanese Prime Minister coming to India?
Official Spokesperson: You have been for long covering our conferences. I just announced a visit coming on the 16th of December. And I have no idea of any visit during this year from the country you mentioned because we had a very very successful visit of the Emperor and the Empress recently. If you are talking of visits in the next year, I think there is still a long way to go.
Question:Our Foreign Secretary was in the US. What are two or three broad outcomes that float from there? Also, we are all a little intrigued given the much trumpeted closeness between India and the United Sates, how do incidents like what you said as regards the Indian diplomats happen? I mean it is just contrary to the spirit of India-US relations.
Official Spokesperson: I think I have answered that question. If you see the answer, it is already there. This is an isolated incident, we are trying to work through this. However, on the other broader things, the focus of that visit was to see how we proceed in 2014 following from the outcomes of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s meeting with President Obama earlier this year. So, the idea was to try and see where are the major issues that we need to focus on next year, how do we go about it.
We intend to have an Energy Dialogue early next year. That will be held in Delhi between Deputy-Chairman, Planning Commission and Energy Secretary on the US side. You would have noticed that Foreign Secretary did meet Deputy Secretary Ponemen regarding this issue. There are other dialogues which are being lined up. You also have noticed that Foreign Secretary had her first dialogue on strategic security with the Acting Under Secretary of State for Non-proliferation Matters. So, this is an intensification of our engagement. It is looking forward and trying to see how we can proceed further in the next year on intensifying the relationship.
Question:My question is also related to FS’s visit to the US. Did she raise the issue of snooping again with the US authorities and what was their response?
Official Spokesperson: We have raised this in different fora. I have not seen the entire readout to indicate whether this specific issue was raised. But our view is pretty clear on this. We have raised it several times. I can recollect at least three times that it has been raised in the last three months. And our views remain what they are.
Question:…(Inaudible)…
Official Spokesperson: I said I do not know whether this was raised specifically at this meeting because it also needs to be theappropriate
interlocutors on the other side. I have not seen the entire details of all her meetings. But this does not mean that this is not an issue of concern to us. This is an issue of concern, we have raised it three times. Whether it figures in one meeting or the other, this remains a matter that we intend to pursue.
Question:Bangladesh opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia accused India of not respecting the maximum peoples’ opinion of Bangladesh. What is your comment?
Official Spokesperson: I think I answered that in a way when Gautam asked that question, and I can repeat it if you would like to know. We proceed in our relations with Bangladesh on the basis of principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit, non-interference, and respect for each other’s sovereignty. It is for the people of Bangladesh to decide upon their future. We have deep respect for their wisdom and achievements. And we are confident that as a democracy the people of Bangladesh will resolve their differences through dialogue and peaceful means in an atmosphere free of violence. I have said that before and I just repeat it. It is basically an answer to Gautam’s question where there was a veiled allusion to what you have come out more forthrightly.
Thank you very much.
(Concluded)
New Delhi
December 13, 2013
