SPEECH BY
SHRI K.R.NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, WHILE ACCEPTING
THE CREDENTIALS FROM MR. ASKAR O. SHAKIROV, AMBASSADOR-DESIGNATE
OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN TO INDIA
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 21, 1998
Excellency,
It gives me great pleasure to receive the Letter of Credence by which the
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan has appointed you as Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Republic
of India. I also accept the Letter of Recall of your predecessor Ambassador
Rashid Turarovich Ibraev.
Let me congratulate and welcome you and your family to India. I am sure
you would feel at home in this country, as there is much in common between
our cultures and traditions, besides our close relations, both historic
and contemporary.
I would like to take this opportunity to convey to His Excellency Mr. Nursultan
Nazarbaev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, my best wishes for his
health and happiness, and to the people of Kazakhstan, for their prosperity
and success. I also thank His Excellency the President for the kind greetings
which he has sent through you.
I recall with happiness my own visit to your beautiful country in September,
1996. The visit of President Nazarbaev to India in December, 1996 was an
important milestone in Indo-Kazakh relations. It is a matter of satisfaction
that high level contacts have been maintained resulting in closer understanding
and co-operation.
Central Asia is an extended neighbourhood for India and thus is of great
importance to us. Common history and culture provide a strong foundation
for pursuing contemporary bilateral relations with Kazakhstan. We share
common values of democracy and secularism. We stand together against extremism,
fundamentalism and terrorism. Given these commonalities and the emergent
global and regional profiles of both our countries, we enter the next millennium
together, with many shared hopes and aspirations.
Ever since Kazakhstan's independence seven years before, its progress, its
successful developmental efforts, its economic liberalisation process, have
been positive trends which we have noted with interest and admiration. There
are parallels between your efforts and experiences, and what we ourselves
have been seeking to achieve over the last five decades. We are strongly
committed to further growth of our relations based on mutual trust and for
the benefit of the peoples of our two countries.
In today's environment of global interdependence, close economic co-operation
between fellow developing countries such as India and Kazakhstan, assumes
even greater urgency. Our bilateral economic and commercial contacts are
increasing, but they still do not do justice to our true potential. It is
mainly here that we would need to direct our energies in the coming months.
Commensurate with our historic bonds, cultural relations between our two
countries got the much desired impetus with the holding of the Indian Cultural
Days in Kazakhstan and the Kazakh Cultural Days in India last year. These
events have certainly helped in further promoting people to people contacts.
Excellency, let me wish you a successful and pleasant tenure in India. I
am sure, through your personal efforts, as also ours, we would be able to
carry our bilateral co-operation and understanding to new heights.
Thank you
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