Edward Nalbandyan
Foreign minister of Armenia
New Delhi
14 November 2010
visited India for talks with vice president Hamid Ansari and external affairs
minister SM Krishna. He explored the possibility of technology cooperation
between India and Armenia, which was once the Silicon Valley of the former
Soviet Union, besides strengthening of trade and cultural ties. He travelled to
Kolkata, which has a small population of Armenian origin. While in Kolkata
Q. How would you describe Armenia - India relations today? Could you
also talk a little bit about your visit here?
A. This is not the first visit by an Armenian foreign minister to
India, but the last one was 10 years ago. There have been two
Presidential visits from Armenia as well. The Indian vice president
visited Armenia in 2005. Our two nations have centuries-old links
between them. After the independence of Armenia in 1991, we established
diplomatic relations, and opened embassies in New Delhi and Yerevan. We
are trying to boost our cooperation in all fields. We have good
cooperation in international organisations where we are supporting each
other’s positions on sensitive issues concerning our two countries.
Armenia was one of the first countries which supported India’s bid for
a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. There are no
differences between our two countries; our positions on international
and regional issues are identical or very close. We have good economic
relations but there is immense potential to be explored, especially in
high technology. India is good in IT and Armenia has good specialists
in this field. Armenia was known as the Silicon Valley of the former
Soviet Union. So IT could be a good area for cooperation. From 2011 we
will have a centre of excellence in information and communication
technologies in Armenia, which will be set up with Indian support. From
the beginning of this year Armenian national air company, Armavia,
started direct flights to Delhi. One more flight could connect Yerevan
to another Indian city in the near future. There is cooperation in
education, industry, transport and energy sectors. Armenian presence in
India dates back to the 5th or 4th centuries B.C. Indian colonies were
established in Armenia in the 2nd century B.C. Our languages belong to
the same Indo-European family, so we have deep civilisational links. We
have very rich traditions and solid basis upon which we can enlarge and
deepen our partnership. In Armenia we have strong will and
determination to further strengthen our friendly relationship with
India and with this message I came to India.
Q. India’s vote against the March 2008 United Nations General Assembly
resolution proposed by Azerbaijan brought India’s position in line with
that of the three Minsk co-chairs – the US, Russia and France – and
other countries. On previous occasions India had either voted for, or
abstained from voting. So is Armenia now satisfied with India’s stand
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
A. We appreciate India’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh. India’s position
was the same as the three Minsk co-chairs. Only 39 out of 192 members
voted for the resolution, and they were mainly members of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). On the issue of Jammu and
Kashmir, we are supporting the position of India. Of course, each
conflict has its own logic, roots, history, development. But between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Kashmir issues, we could notice also some
similarities. In both cases we see some forces, which are trying to put
religious dimension on them. They use organisations such as OIC to pass
biased resolutions by misleading members of that organisation. Of
course, Armenia and India have very good relations with many OIC member
states. Only a few OIC members voted for the UNGA resolution in March
2008 because of one-sided and false information on the essence of this
conflict. Any attempts to add religious dimension to the conflicts
further increases the tensions and does not help the achievement of
peace. Starting the war against Karabakh, Azerbaijan involved in its
aggression mercenaries from Afghanistan closely linked to the same
groups which were used in Kashmir. Provocations, terrorist attacks,
putting oil on fire could only complicate the possibilities of
comprehensive resolutions. Armenia and India are for peaceful,
negotiated resolution of the conflicts. We share the same approach, and
we have understanding on each other’s positions.
Q. You have just finished a trilateral meeting with your colleagues
from Russia and Azerbaijan. Could you give us the status of the talks?
A. By the initiative and presence of the president of Russia, the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents met in Astrakhan in Russia on
October 27, 2010. They agreed that for the diplomatic and political
solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict additional steps should be
taken to consolidate confidence building measures in military field
and, as a first step, exchange of prisoners and return of bodies of
killed persons. The three presidents instructed their foreign ministers
to continue negotiations and to try to come to an agreement on the main
principles of resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before the
Astana summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) in the beginning of December 2010. For this purpose, the
foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were invited by the Russian
foreign minister to meet in Moscow on November 6.
Q. What are your expectations from India? And could you also briefly
touch upon your visit to Kolkata?
A. Armenia is a small country in terms of its size, population and
economy but we have very good basis to boost our cooperation with India
in all possible fields. Armenia has a strong will to enhance and deepen
our friendly partnership with India. Kolkata in West Bengal has a
community of Armenian origin, five churches, a school, and presence of
Armenian cultural heritage. Only one-third of the Armenians lives in
Armenia; the remaining two-thirds lives in about 100 countries of the
world, creating natural bridges between Armenia and those countries.
he met with West Bengal governor MK Narayanan. A visit to the Taj Mahal in
Agra with his India-born wife was also on his itinerary. Speaking in an exclusive
interview to RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN, Mr Nalbandyan, a former career
diplomat, recalls the centuries-old civilisational links between Armenia and
India and how they hold similar views on international issues, including
Nagorno-Karabakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Excerpts:
Q. How would you describe Armenia - India relations today? Could you
also talk a little bit about your visit here?
A. This is not the first visit by an Armenian foreign minister to
India, but the last one was 10 years ago. There have been two
Presidential visits from Armenia as well. The Indian vice president
visited Armenia in 2005. Our two nations have centuries-old links
between them. After the independence of Armenia in 1991, we established
diplomatic relations, and opened embassies in New Delhi and Yerevan. We
are trying to boost our cooperation in all fields. We have good
cooperation in international organisations where we are supporting each
other’s positions on sensitive issues concerning our two countries.
Armenia was one of the first countries which supported India’s bid for
a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. There are no
differences between our two countries; our positions on international
and regional issues are identical or very close. We have good economic
relations but there is immense potential to be explored, especially in
high technology. India is good in IT and Armenia has good specialists
in this field. Armenia was known as the Silicon Valley of the former
Soviet Union. So IT could be a good area for cooperation. From 2011 we
will have a centre of excellence in information and communication
technologies in Armenia, which will be set up with Indian support. From
the beginning of this year Armenian national air company, Armavia,
started direct flights to Delhi. One more flight could connect Yerevan
to another Indian city in the near future. There is cooperation in
education, industry, transport and energy sectors. Armenian presence in
India dates back to the 5th or 4th centuries B.C. Indian colonies were
established in Armenia in the 2nd century B.C. Our languages belong to
the same Indo-European family, so we have deep civilisational links. We
have very rich traditions and solid basis upon which we can enlarge and
deepen our partnership. In Armenia we have strong will and
determination to further strengthen our friendly relationship with
India and with this message I came to India.
Q. India’s vote against the March 2008 United Nations General Assembly
resolution proposed by Azerbaijan brought India’s position in line with
that of the three Minsk co-chairs – the US, Russia and France – and
other countries. On previous occasions India had either voted for, or
abstained from voting. So is Armenia now satisfied with India’s stand
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
A. We appreciate India’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh. India’s position
was the same as the three Minsk co-chairs. Only 39 out of 192 members
voted for the resolution, and they were mainly members of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). On the issue of Jammu and
Kashmir, we are supporting the position of India. Of course, each
conflict has its own logic, roots, history, development. But between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Kashmir issues, we could notice also some
similarities. In both cases we see some forces, which are trying to put
religious dimension on them. They use organisations such as OIC to pass
biased resolutions by misleading members of that organisation. Of
course, Armenia and India have very good relations with many OIC member
states. Only a few OIC members voted for the UNGA resolution in March
2008 because of one-sided and false information on the essence of this
conflict. Any attempts to add religious dimension to the conflicts
further increases the tensions and does not help the achievement of
peace. Starting the war against Karabakh, Azerbaijan involved in its
aggression mercenaries from Afghanistan closely linked to the same
groups which were used in Kashmir. Provocations, terrorist attacks,
putting oil on fire could only complicate the possibilities of
comprehensive resolutions. Armenia and India are for peaceful,
negotiated resolution of the conflicts. We share the same approach, and
we have understanding on each other’s positions.
Q. You have just finished a trilateral meeting with your colleagues
from Russia and Azerbaijan. Could you give us the status of the talks?
A. By the initiative and presence of the president of Russia, the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents met in Astrakhan in Russia on
October 27, 2010. They agreed that for the diplomatic and political
solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict additional steps should be
taken to consolidate confidence building measures in military field
and, as a first step, exchange of prisoners and return of bodies of
killed persons. The three presidents instructed their foreign ministers
to continue negotiations and to try to come to an agreement on the main
principles of resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict before the
Astana summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) in the beginning of December 2010. For this purpose, the
foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were invited by the Russian
foreign minister to meet in Moscow on November 6.
Q. What are your expectations from India? And could you also briefly
touch upon your visit to Kolkata?
A. Armenia is a small country in terms of its size, population and
economy but we have very good basis to boost our cooperation with India
in all possible fields. Armenia has a strong will to enhance and deepen
our friendly partnership with India. Kolkata in West Bengal has a
community of Armenian origin, five churches, a school, and presence of
Armenian cultural heritage. Only one-third of the Armenians lives in
Armenia; the remaining two-thirds lives in about 100 countries of the
world, creating natural bridges between Armenia and those countries.
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