TRAUIIICRIPT OF PRESS CONFERENCE. PEARL CONTINENTAL HOTEL,
S BRIJARY 19-39
C . Y 0; i E :! JP. CCi7 ONLfY
S0( i RNALIS~ 1T hutto has i,.; st us tLat she
. nc irecI i uch in tact about the i'l; tv ; Ii ~ il. d it
1.1 tni-s cg. Io D we ! hare her rmncerni?
ie : 3n underst and hier @ Ooncevn e ro1i t o er_-ct i of
W .~ S'j( s: ionl'.. t about this issue ind Wti lO.*:. csir
iA11tl bc mrat will be dis'cusnsmn o the iiitte: r t~ h him
-i t'c r appropti ate thUit i don t say anvth inq more
7~ ct. h at ' Lhc-r than to eiophas ise th fact Lh fui yA
undcierst. itnc the concern that my ; t ien'i the Pr-+ Lm e 1--1 s te r
Pak istarn h this issue.
, hO1JINAL ST., hav. e the taiks been success 1u1l~ d
-1: f sm Y ssessment tthat triey have be-en and tr-i a senise,
uo r e j. i p or t at P. t h ink iLt h he a s s e S!-. Ier n. M s 3 i ut t o
.: nrd 1". e Thir. a; tti they have been. e'i. dsvc uss"' d .3
er'i : r L': u~ qlobal, gte regicnal. and ' 01ilateral.
ss ep t+ nt t Ae q [ obal and regijrna I prp~: ives nave
Of' Yr;~ irmil ar ves a n o i n ire caid r-o the bi ' ateral . se
11Cr is 30!. ib! th~ at as a i eiutt _ ci the talks I ' ve d ith
th., Pr ime tliister o-f Pa. k istan . and '* iha i-! de rzau cit her
' iiristers Ihat we . v. e now establi-hed the basis a mmourh
.; cesubstantial I nd gi-cwing ecoz oia1ñ c relationship i-. hich will+
-' 1er c ur nlutual benp.. it. There are mans: areas f imporrance
in the plans ot the Pakistanis for their econoiic coeve iopment
. n iwn! ich we have an expertise and an e-:: pe! iencn. ! havE:, been
able today to qo throuqh those in very ronsiderdble -etall in
terms of actual projects as well as econmic areas. Iibb eIi e ve
that an a result of those disCUSSions the ; oppcrt tn it ivs for
Australian involv'ement in economic expansion here -j.-ing to
be f cniicant. of course, r' -ciprocallv, '~ ei. do wh! fac 1; c
can to incrccase the opporr unit ies for he relevant
Oak is tan qro. s into Australia. All in alL very
S a 1, ed : 3ztd 1. t'S a satisfact ion whic'n f ismtly
he-1 .
JOURNAL, ST: On nucle ar disarmamnent -ird no~ n erat ion,
2, re ,' ou ascsured by Ms Bhutto's attitude?
PM: Yes, there is no doubt that as far as Pakistan is
concerned, as the position has been put by her, she's given
the unequivocal undertaking that the purposes of the
Pakistani nuclear program are for peaceful purposes. Shie's
been quite unequivocal about that and has indicated the
preparedness of Pakistan, either i~ n a universal sense or
importantly in1 a regional 3ense, to arrive at some sort of
agreement which would commit Pakistan to that position.
Obviously they want a reciprocity as far as Indid is
concerned and what I've said in my discussions with Bhutto is
that we think it would be useful for us, Australia and
Pakistan, to have bilateral discussions on disarmament
issues, including nuclear issues. There's been a positive
response by her to that proposal and quite obviously, without
going into detail, I would be looking at a similar sort of
concept with Mr Gandhi. So again, as you know always without
overstating what Australia can do in these sorts of issues, I
think this imay be another case where with the very good
credentials that Australia has in the field of disarmament
generally and nuclear disarmament issues in particular, that
we may be able to exercise some useful influence in perhaps
getting a better and more acceptable outcome on this
important issue, because as the Pakistani Prime Minister and
myself have both agreed, it would indeed be a paradox arid a
tragedy if at a time when between the superpowers you are
seeing~ a process which involves the reduction of armaments
and of nuclear capacities, there ere to be a build-up in
this region and she shares that view. It would, both in
termns of security be a tragedy and a paradox, and it would be
a gross misallocation of resources in a subcontinent which is
desperately needing all the resources it can for the
uplifting of its people.
JOURNALIST: Who would undertake those talks and when would
you envisage that they would take place?
PM: What I've suggested with the Prime Minister is that.
those talks should be at an officials' level. I believet that
that's what will occur.
JOURNALIST: She said that Pakistan would sign the NPT if
India signed the NPT. Will you be pushing Rajiv Gandhi?
PM: As you know I don't make a practice of
JOURNALIST: Ask him?
PM: That was not the point I'm going to make.
Occasionally you give little gentle pushes, but I don't make
a practice of disclosing before I meet with a national leader
just what I'm going to say to him. I don't think that's fair
to him or in a sense to me.
JOURNALIST: Do you think it's up to Rajiv Gandhi to try to
break the logjam over the NPT? Do you think that it's
India's move now?
PM: Let me put it this way, that there is a clear statement
of position by the Pakistani Prime Minister on behalf of her
government and her nation. Clearly they put their position
in terms of acquiring a reciprocity by India. So in a sense
that now ask that what is the response of India, you'ye
got to understand that in the case of India they would be
putting into their equation and their calculation not just
relationship with Pakistan but consideration to relations
with China. But obviously this is an issue that I will be
talkinq at some length with my friend Rajiv Gandhi about. I
believe that given the nature of our relationship and the
discussions I've been able to have here, it should be another
useful discussion.
JOURNALIST: Did you enjoy meeting EBenazir Bhutto? Did you
get along well with her?
PM: Yes, I think we got on excellently together. I wished
I'd been 100% fit I've had a little bit of the flu but I
think that crisis is passing but yes, I've enjoyed her
company very much. One of the interesting things about it is
the sheer joy she's experiencing in being in this position.
When you consider the expectations that she would have had
less than 12 months ago, the suffering that she had gone
through and those close to her who now form part of the
ministry, the imprisonment that they've suffered, the torture
that some of them have suffered. Now to be in the position
of power is obviously something which is in a proper sense
very exhilerating for her. She's working extremely hard, she
is well informed and briefed on the range of issues that I
talked with her about and she obviously has a great õ ense cif
co-operation with her ministers. Yes, I find it interesting,
stimlulating, and I certainly look forward to working futher
with her in the future.
JOURNALIST: Are you expecting her to be a long term
fixture on the Pakistani political scene?
is PM: She deserves to be.
ends