11.10.2011
H.E. Mr. E.
Ahamed Minister of State for External Affairs Government of India At the
10th ACD Ministerial Meeting On 11 October 2011 - Kuwait
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow
me once again to convey my deep and sincere appreciation to His
Excellency Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, the Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, for the warm hospitality
extended to all of us. The dinner hosted by you, Excellency, last
evening was a memorable event and I would like to thank you and your
colleagues once again for all the courtesies extended to each one of us.
Excellencies,
The
fourth session today reflects the rich civilisational heritage,
distinctive cultures and the youthful human resources of the ACD member
states.
Through the centuries, India has been
identified by the plurality of its culture, the multiplicity of its
religions and the diversity of its people. And, yet, all Indians
through the ages have shared certain attitudes, values, ideas and
practices. To us, the ACD member States are a larger canvas of the
same picture. We agree that the youth play a very significant role in
cultural interaction and would suggest networking of cultural
institutions using educational satellites and video conferencing, video
tele-teaching and webcasting.
As co-prime
mover in the field of culture, India is proposing to host the 2nd Senior
Officials Meeting on Cultural Cooperation on January 17-18, 2012 and we
look forward to your enthusiastic support and participation.
Mr. Chairman and dear colleagues,
India
supports both the dimensions of ACD ' 'dialogue' and 'projects'.
The uniqueness of the ACD is its diverse membership, reflected in the
multiple areas identified for project cooperation. India strongly
endorses the ACD approach of exploring complementarities amongst its
members and finding common opportunities for cooperation and
development.
As we look back at 10 years of cooperation as
ACD member States, we would think that ACD is well established as a
'dialogue forum'. We, perhaps, need to give further momentum to the
'project' dimension of ACD for more constructive engagements and
partnerships. I would like to, therefore, suggest that each of the
prime movers consider periodically circulating to all the member
countries the outcome information on the initiatives undertaken.
We could identify Points of Contact in the Ministries for Foreign
Affairs for dissemination of such information. This would
facilitate better coordination amongst member States, from the
working-level upwards.
Mr. Chairman and Excellencies,
I
have been listening keenly to the views expressed by my colleagues in
the sessions since yesterday. The ACD Ministerial Meeting is a unique
forum, permitting us the opportunity to share our perspectives and plans
in almost every aspect that affects the political, security, economic
and social dimensions in our countries. On behalf of my country, I would
like to extend all support to the objectives and projects of the ACD to
further our common pursuit of peace, security and development. My
suggestions to make the ACD a more effective forum have been made in
this spirit.
I would like to, once again, extend my sincere
thanks to the State of Kuwait for hosting and making excellent
arrangements for the 10th ACD Ministerial Meeting. We also convey
our sincere appreciation to the Kingdom of Thailand for its role as
Coordinator. We welcome the Republic of Tajikistan as the next ACD host
in 2012.
Thank you!
