PRIME gVIINISTER Lj j
FOR MEDIA 4 SEPTEMBER
PRIME MINISTER'S RESPONSE TO WELCOMING
ADDRESSES BY PRESIDENT REDDY AND
PRIME MINISTER GANDHI AT CHOGRM
Your Excellency, President Reddy, Heads of State, Heads of
Government, Secretary General, distinguished guests, ladies
and gentlemen. It gives me the greatest pleasure to respond to the
gracious words of welcome addressed to us by His Excellency
President Reddy and Prime Minister Gandhi.
This second regional meeting of Commonwealth leads of
Government is, very appropriately, being hosted by the country
whose independence, 32 years ago, set in train that iihternational
decolonisation movement which eventually led to the creation of
the free and equal Commonwealth of Nations whose members we are.
This meeting is being held in one of the great democratic
capitals of the world. It is a fitting place for our
deliberations. I join most readily and happily in welcoming the Heads
of Government of those countries whose independence has been
achieved since the first meeting Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon
Islands and Vanuatu. I trust that they will find this a congenial
and rewarding forum.
The first Commonwealth He-ads of Gov, rnjiiert recjicnii*
meeting,. the latest in viny innovations in the e-. volving p1t:
of Corrurionwealth consultation., was held two and a half years ago
' in Sydney. The thinking behind this initiative was that we,
unlike most of our other Commonwealth colleagues, lackled an
alternative regional arrangement outside the Coji-anonwealth vi-lich
brought us all togelther on a regu lar basis: se cond, that scme of
the smnaller and more remote imen-ters \*/ oUid find a nicet; Lng
particularly beneficial. For Pustralia arid I belie-ve for o'c
in the eastern pait of the region the arranc-c-rn had theñ
particular attiu: Li on of strengthening our lik; with the
sub-continent. Tile spirit oif the initiaL vo(-\ vzs rrc'Lical andp n ic
its orientation was toward,_-the tack] ~ ing of uct:--nan
proble-ils anid projects; itS a. IAL vue:. t) enhanice reg ional.
coaor t onand tile r( cjiorlal 111: Li nq was sec2n as 050\ vh. c,
wdo contribute to the vital i Lv and ature of-tho wi~ der
Corru, on'. ealth. Mr Presidert I thiflz x _ t is txuen Lhiit inl' any ei~ p
of tli s tinilte jccidieL ni al a lon. jThe:
first is lilk( e1Y L u Staj.-) O( I the noveity u the oc; casion~
ant djd* Li nthr: i ' cc. Bti L i1: 5cori rneot~ ing in D2JYhi il
Nc? m (> 2 i n i tho cm)!; LiA to dev,: lIop lfftlr
J xtno. v onr andi in-shc! irn (. 11 1incaa! i: eirLs of. CBRi' u~~ e
! cLb Lin f'ui: days ti he: 1ave-oin, ' rgqc~ d i
of a 0; Pf1a-ia / 3
Mr President, I have put the stress firmly on the
practical and I believe that this is where it should be.
But as we meet here we cannot ignore the fact that in the two
years since our last meeting in Sydney there have been momentous
changes on the wider international scene. It is difficult to
see inany of these as anything but changes for the worst.
The world is now breathing a harsher air and the decade we
have just-entered promises to be a troubled and dangerous
one. We in this chamber cannot contemplate these changes
with detachment and indifference, since some of them iminge
very directly on our region and have implications for its
future. I do not think we should be embarrassed or inhibited
because there exist among us some differences of interpretation
as to the causes and nature of some of these events. We have
different perspectives historical as well as geographical
and different interests which make such divergences inevit: *. le.
It is healthier to recognise this rather than to pretend
that it is not so.
But there is no need either to dwell on these
differences or to make them the focus of our discussions.
For I am sure that, however we interpret events, none of us
can be complacent about their actual and potential consequences
for the region. The intrusion of great power rivalries*,
detcriorating relations between some of the states within
the region; attempts to divide existing states; the human
mI'sery, anid the strain on resources, represented by hundreds
of thousands of refugees these are facts which, regardless
of what interpretation of causes is accepted, represent
impediments to the goal of stable and continuous development
in the region.
-4-
Insofar as wediscuss recent di. Eturbanccs arnd cocnfLicL.,
at this meeting, therEfore, I be'lieve that we should do so
looking forward, in terms-of ho-w. we can Jlive with and respond
to co. nsequencen, rather than lool-inq back-wards in tcerms OIC
origins and the attributing of blaime.
In approachingj those questions . we might welbear
in mind and tahe heart from the major contributions ~ b
the Comnmonwealthi to the resolution of the scemiincily irtreZctibl-:
problems of Zirtihal~ we last y e ar That contribution demonstra& ted
that the smnaller and iniddlc.-si;, od, countric-s of the world need
not be waithout infl. uernce. Wbcn I vi.-ited lndia fof thce
Incnenrlk: ncc Day celebrations in January l-979, 1 ~ inare
that there was an urgent. need 0te1cV, oices of rnol. rat~ or1
the wo.,-rld to speak out with ccn,. v. otion 1. h; I! the cause-s of
tolc2. aticor, reasonn arid world or& cr doiiandod the~ sa CC.;; I C: 2t
suppor t as is all too of Len reservod for ex~ mA. Ev-' s;
sinco2, thten hove iricroasu,-d that u* ruency.
Tlne a r ol1e for a L I of us to uy in thiz 0eSp ct
weShould nLall ow ourselvxes* tce L uver-* awe-: d by evc'nts or) i to
6, en. 13. ; n e the1 pottei l flun: of : c ocls~,-e re-solx.' ely
p. Nr) rsdcntin conc).'! Cing ths re I
c1 .1t oi e sa ain ho.; plcux-ed I am to beck in voj,., r
q1c~ ct~ mt~. y I lookhc ~ g owr n of view-S wit h
7j f~ ndsan-, to a otrci\ eofrne C,