The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that terrorism has become a pandemic and affects every society. He was addressing the Media onboard Air India One Special Aircraft while returning to India concluding five-day visit to Armenia and Poland, today. The Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. 

The Vice President said that both Armenia and Poland were very friendly countries and we were able to regenerate interest in mutual cooperation. Though Armenia is a small country, it has traditionally been very friendly to us, he added. 

Referring to Poland, the Vice President said that it is the biggest economy in Central Europe and we have an expanding trade with them. He further said that there are Indian investments in Poland and Polish investments in India and during the course of discussions, with both the Polish President and the Prime Minister, we were able to identify some specific areas where cooperation between these two countries is either starting or can start very soon. We were able to focus on three particular areas of interest; clean coal mining technology, agricultural products and techniques and defence cooperation, he added. 

The Vice President said that he had suggested to the Polish leadership for Poland to join the Make in India Programmes and instead of being a seller only, they could become an India based seller, which will give them a much additional advantages. He further said that the Polish side reacted very positively to the suggestion and there will be substantial progress in coming day when the Polish President visits India. All in all, the discussions were very focused and very positive and in both countries, the results have been satisfactory, he added. 

Reacting to a question on exploring potential with Armenian innovation and Indian efforts coming together for mutual benefit, the Vice President said that Armenian innovation is good and Indian effort is right in its place. We need to see where and what the innovation is and where it will fit in to our requirements, he added. 

On a question about the road ahead in our relationship with Poland, the Vice President said that Poland has done its own homework in identifying India's rising profile to become a major trading partner and a major political entity in its own right. He further said that the Poles have identified a few markets in Asia as priority markets and India is one of them. We both look forward and expect several initiatives in furthering this process, he added. 

Answering a question on adopting Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), the Vice President said that every country is facing the problem of terrorism in a lesser or greater degree and the problem is understood by everyone. He referred to the time when he was the permanent representative of India to UN in New York in 1994, when India had introduced a proposal on CCIT and it was struck because there was a difference in perception with regard to defining a terrorist. He further said that while making an international agreement, all kinds of legal problems come up and those who do not want this to make progress, come up with legal technicalities. It is an excuse on part of some countries to try to avoid committing themselves, he added. 

Reacting to a question on image of India in foreign countries, the Vice President said that India's image outside, or image within the country is on different planes and multiple images are a fact of life. He referred to India, through ISRO, sending Mars mission and launching satellites of several countries. He further said that a common man looks at our strengths in Information Technology and Indian IT professionals are present all over the world and as long as the picture is a faithful one, we have to take note what ISRO is doing, what IT is doing and what Indian scientific research is doing. Along with it, there is poverty, there is inequality, but despite all this is also the fact that we have been able, for seven decades, to run a democratic system on a monumental scale, he added. 
 

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KSD/BK