1. The Ninth Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Republic of India, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China was held on 27 October 2009 in Bengaluru.
2. The Ministers noted the ongoing trilateral cooperation between India, Russia and China and explored new avenues for deepening and strengthening this interaction on various issues for the benefit of the people of the three countries and peace and stability in the region.
3. Despite the impact of the international financial crisis, the pace of development of the three countries has improved contributing to faster growth among them. Enhanced engagement among them strengthens their influence on the process of democratisation of international relations and development of multipolar world order reflecting the diversity of world cultures and civilizations.
4. While reviewing the implementation of the Trilateral initiatives, the Ministers noted with satisfaction the holding of the trilateral meeting of experts of India, Russia & China in the area of Disaster Mitigation and Relief held in Samara, Russia on 28 July 2008. The prospective areas of cooperation in this important area were identified as – interaction between research institutes; exchange of experts/specialists; exchange of experience in practical response to major disasters; exchange of information between the National Disaster Management Authorities on major emergencies; training of instructors/specialists; and holding joint conferences and seminars. The next meeting of this group of experts is due to be held in China in 2009.
5. The Ministers welcomed the holding of the next meeting of the India-Russia-China trilateral expert group on agricultural cooperation, scheduled to be held in November/December 2009 in New Delhi.
6. The Ministers noted that according to the understanding arrived at in the first meeting of trilateral group of experts on Health and Medicine held in India in September 2008, the next meeting of the trilateral group of experts on Health and Medicine would be held in 2010 in Russia
7. The Ministers reviewed the trilateral interaction among the business communities of the three countries and discussed the 2nd Trilateral Business Conference held on 17-19 September 2009 in Changchun, China. They noted that interaction among business communities was increasing and areas like pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, IT and energy have been the focus areas. The Ministers discussed ways in which the meetings of this forum could be more meaningful to the business communities in the time ahead so that new opportunities may be grasped to expand trade and investment. They looked forward to the next meeting in Russia.
8. The Ministers discussed ways of enhancing interaction in the trilateral format. India, Russia and China, which together stretch over 20% of the total global landmass and represent 39% of the global population, are important members of the international community playing a significant role in world affairs. The Ministers agreed that trilateral dialogue in areas such as global economic governance architecture, climate change, trade policy and development cooperation would contribute greatly to global peace and prosperity and that concerted trilateral action against international terrorism, trans-national crime and drug-trafficking would promote stability and all-round development in today’s inter-dependent world.
9. The international situation was reviewed by the Ministers and the major global developments were discussed. The Ministers welcomed the decision made at the Pittsburgh Summit to designate G20 as the premier forum for international economic cooperation. They stressed that the future global economic governance should feature in balanced representation, equality and result-orientedness, and ensure the voice and representation of emerging market and developing countries. The three countries advocated that future G20 summits should be held in developed countries and emerging market and developing countries by rotation based on the principle of transparency and equity. The Ministers emphasized that one of the ultimate goals of governance structure reform for international financial institutions is equitable distribution of voting power between developed countries and developing ones. The Ministers called for early implementation of the quantified targets on the governance structure reform of the international financial institutions endorsed by the G20 Pittsburgh Summit, speedy shift in IMF quota share of at least 5% to emerging market and developing countries and a significant increase of at least 3% of voting power in the World Bank for developing and transition countries, while avoiding erosion in voting shares of developing countries.
10. The three countries reiterated that they take the issue of climate change very seriously and that they are ready to strengthen international cooperation and make active effort to jointly tackle climate change. The three countries stressed that the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen presents an important opportunity for strengthening international cooperation in addressing climate change in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UNFCCC and the Bali Action Plan, taking into account the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. The Ministers reiterated the willingness of the three countries to contribute to the success of the Conference.
11. The Ministers reiterated that there was a need for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations with a view to make it more efficient so that it can deal with the current global challenges more effectively. The Ministers of India, Russia and China reiterated that their countries attach importance to the status of India in international affairs, and understand and support India’s aspirations to play a greater role in the United Nations.
12. The Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that there can be no justification for any act of terrorism anywhere. They underlined that the fight against terrorism needs strong international cooperation, particularly within the framework of the United Nations. The Ministers stressed that all concerned must implement relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, particularly UNSC Resolution 1267, 1373 and 1540 and international conventions and protocols against terrorism as well as contribute to implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. In the context of strengthening international cooperation against terrorism, the Ministers urged all UN member states to urgently conclude and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
13. The Ministers agreed that there exists a natural complementarity between India, China and Russia in the energy sector. Russia is a dominant supplier of oil and gas; India and China are energy deficit, but significant suppliers of manufactured products and services. Trilateral relations can be further reinforced by establishing mutually advantageous relations in the energy sector. India, China and Russia welcome the growing trend of discussing energy security issues in multilateral fora. Energy matters are best addressed in a framework that reconciles the long-term interests of both energy-consuming and energy-producing nations. India, Russia and China look to intensifying international cooperation in the energy sector on a new basis to promote openness, transparency and competition in the energy market and reflect in a balanced manner the interest of all parties concerned.
14. The Ministers noted that the Afghan presidential and provincial council elections were held on August 20, 2009, and a second round of the presidential elections is due to be held on November 7, 2009. The Ministers expressed the hope that the election process will be conducted peacefully and with the active participation of the Afghan people. The Ministers emphasised the necessity of the international community maintaining its commitment to render assistance to the government and people of Afghanistan in ensuring security and development, and restoring peace and stability and building a democratic, pluralistic and prosperous Afghanistan. The Ministers agreed that terrorism must be combated firmly by the international community and expressed concern at the continuing deterioration of the security situation there due to continued terrorist attacks. The Ministers condemned the terrorist attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul on October 8, 2009. The Ministers highlighted the need to bring the perpetrators of all terrorist attacks to justice and the need for strict observance of the sanctions regime against persons and entities listed by the UNSC Committee 1267.
15. The Ministers stressed the need for sustained international efforts to effectively combat production and trafficking of narcotics in the region. In this regard, they called for close cooperation between the International Security Assistance Force and the coalition forces and the Government of Afghanistan in fighting this threat to regional stability and security.
16. The Ministers welcomed the recent talks between Iran and representatives of the P5+1 and the EU in Geneva and emphasised the need to continue efforts to achieve a political and diplomatic settlement of the Iran nuclear issue. They shared the view that Iran is entitled to the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and at the same time should fulfill its due international obligations. The Ministers emphasized that all possible efforts should be made to address the Iran nuclear issue by peaceful means through dialogue and negotiation and that the IAEA should play an important role in resolving outstanding issues.
17. The Ministers noted that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is steadily becoming an important factor of emerging architecture of security, economy, culture, people-to-people contacts and cooperation in Asia. They spoke in favour of further enhancement of interaction of the SCO Member-States with Observer-States and dialogue partners and other states and international organizations concerned for the benefit of strengthening security and stability in the region.
18. The Foreign Ministers of China and Russia expressed satisfaction that the Indian delegation to the SCO Summit was led by the Prime Minister for the first time and at Indian participation at appropriate levels in other SCO meetings held in 2009. The External Affairs Minister of India reiterated India’s interest in participating in SCO activities particularly economic activities (SCO Business Forum, SCO Energy Club and Inter Banking Consortium), counter-terrorism (Regional Counter Terrorism Structure) and SCO Contact Group on Afghanistan. The Foreign Ministers of China and Russia welcomed India’s constructive engagement in SCO activities.
19. The Foreign Ministers of India and China expressed support to Russia’s efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Caucasus region.
20. The Foreign Ministers of India and China welcomed the decision that Russia would officially join the mechanism of Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM) at the 8th ASEM Summit in Brussels.
21. The Ministers reiterated their support for the Six Party talks to achieve the objective of full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and called upon all parties concerned to work towards bringing about peace and stability in the region.
22. The Ministers expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting and decided to hold the next trilateral meeting in China.
Bengaluru
October 27, 2009