Statement by Jayant Prasad
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India
to the Conference on Disarmament

Geneva, 24 March 2005

Mr. President,

Please accept my delegation’s warm felicitations on your assumption of the Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. We are most happy to see you in the chair and assure you of our fullest support.

We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome in our midst a new colleague, the distinguished Ambassador of Pakistan. He comes here with high credentials and is known for his astuteness and diplomatic skills.

Our two countries are engaged in a composite dialogue process under which a wide range of issues are being discussed, including Jammu and Kashmir. The dialogue also includes confidence building measures. There is one point in the statement we have just heard from the Ambassador of Pakistan that requires clarifications on the part of our delegation. India does not accept the linkage between nuclear restraint and conventional balance. The defence requirements and threat perceptions of India and Pakistan are not identical, hence we do not entertain the idea of a conventional military balance between India and Pakistan. We remain open, of course, to all constructive suggestions on nuclear and conventional confidence building measures, which we intend to pursue bilaterally under the framework of our ongoing dialogue.

I thank you Mr. President.

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