India, Kazakhstan agree to boost trade, defence cooperation
Astana, Aug 3: India and Kazakhstan agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade and defence and security following delegation-level talks headed by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov here on Friday.
"We covered the full range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest," Sushma Swaraj said while addressing the media following the meeting.
"We took stock of progress in our bilateral relations," she said.
Noting that both India and Kazakhstan have developed multifaceted cooperation in all areas of bilateral and multilateral relations and are strategic partners since 2009, she said New Delhi seeks to consolidate and further strengthen its friendly relations with the Central Asian nation.
"I discussed with Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov our interest to partner with Kazakhstan to explore markets for new products, diversifying from the trade in traditional products to inject fresh impetus to the trade between the two countries," Sushma Swaraj said.
"There is immense potential to be tapped in sectors like agricultural products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, energy and chemicals."
Kazakhstan is India's largest trade and investment partner in Central Asia. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $642.42 million in 2016-17.
Cumulative investments from India into Kazakhstan and from Kazakhstan to India from 2005 to 2016 amounted to $244 million and $83.09 million respectively, according to figures provided by the Indian External Affairs Ministry.
Sushma Swaraj also said that India has keen interest in improving connectivity with the Central Asian region.
"In December 2017, India acceded to TIR convention and in February 2018, India joined the Ashgabat Agreement," she said.
"The International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is gaining momentum and the member states are working together to popularise the corridor."
The Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) Convention is a multilateral treaty that seeks to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international transport.
The Ashgabat Agreement is a multimodal transport agreement between India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Sushma Swaraj also said that she and Abdrakhmanov expressed their interest to further strengthen defence cooperation between the two sides "based on solid foundation that we have in place".
"Our defence and security sector cooperation has intensified in the last two years," she said.
"Kazakh Armed Forces Unit underwent training on peacekeeping operations in India and presently a mobile training team from the Indian Army is training Kazakh personnel in Almaty."
Pointing out that both countries have growing cooperation in capacity building, Sushma Swaraj said: "Kazakhstan's professionals and students have been attending courses on scholarships in India every year under ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) and ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme in a wide range of disciplines."
She also stressed on enhancing people-to-people contact and promoting tourism between the two countries.
Following the delegation-level talks, Sushma Swaraj called on Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev.
"Good exchange of views on strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, ICT, joint film production, tourism and people-to-people contacts," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted following the meeting.
Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Thursday on the first leg of her three-nation Central Asian tour that will also see her visiting Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
She interacted with members of the around 7,000-strong Indian community in Kazakhstan soon after her arrival.
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Guarantee schemes model for empowering poor, Cong will return to power in 2028: Siddaramaiah
Mangaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday expressed confidence that the Congress government would return to power in the state in 2028.
He asserted that the five guarantee schemes introduced in 2023 have become a model for empowering the underprivileged, women, the unemployed and economically weaker sections, not just in the state but in the entire country.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a Kambala event at Muduru-Paduru in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, he said the welfare measures reflected the vision of the Congress government to strengthen social and economic democracy.
"The five guarantees were introduced with the sole objective of empowering the poor, marginalised and weaker sections of society. These schemes have now become a model for ensuring social and economic justice," he said.
Siddaramaiah said democracy should not remain confined to political representation alone but must also ensure social and economic empowerment.
"A democracy that is only political has little meaning unless it is socially and economically vibrant," he said, adding that the state government was working towards that goal.
The CM also praised senior Congress leader and former minister B Ramanath Rai, who organised the event, describing him as one of the most honest leaders and recalling his role in bringing developmental works worth about Rs 5,000 crore to the constituency during his tenure as MLA and minister.
Despite his contributions, Rai had lost the Assembly election from Bantwal, Siddaramaiah said, expressing hope that he would contest again from the constituency in 2028 and secure victory.
He also lauded the people of the coastal region for preserving traditional cultural practices and organising Kambala races, terming the slush track buffalo race a popular folk sport of the state.
