West Asia talks extended in hope of accord

WASHINGTON, Oct 19 (IANS) — Despite three personal interventions by US President Bill Clinton in the past four days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat failed to find a way out of the deadlock in the West Asia peace process.

The two leaders have, however, agreed to stay engaged for another day in the hope of a possible accord. US State Department spokesman James Rubin, who last night announced the extension of the talks, said, "It is in the best interest of the peace process and the discussions we have been having."

The talks, which began on Thursday at the prodding of Clinton at the secluded Wye River Conference Centres, 112 km from here, were originally scheduled to conclude yesterday.

US Vice-President Al Gore yesterday joined Clinton in trying to break the 19-month-old stalemate in the peace process.

The trouble is stated to be over the security guarantees asked for by the Israelis as a condition for vacating the area on the West Bank which the Jewish state had captured in the Middle-East war. According to reports, Arafat insists on a phased release of the Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

A senior US official, who did not wish to be identified, however, made it clear that the extension did not necessarily mean any improvement in the prospects for resolving some of the contentious issues.

He replied in the negative when asked whether the one-day extension was a
signal that an agreement was near at hand. However, the Clinton administration appealed to the two sides to find the necessary "political will" to reach an accord.

President Clinton held separate meetings with Netanyahu and Arafat. But there was no indication that a three-way meeting was in the works for Sunday night, said a White House spokesman.

In reply to a question, Rubin said he did not know whether the President would return today to the negotiation site. But Secretary of State Madeleine Albright would continue to be associated with the negotiations, he said.

Clinton conferred with Albright and other senior advisers for 40 minutes and then had lunch with Netanyahu. Arafat and Netanyahu have not met face to face for two days and there has been no three-way meeting, which would signal progress.

According to some reports, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, US mediator Dennis Ross and Danny Naveh, the Israeli Cabinet Secretary, were working on drafts of other provisions.

Rubin denied an Israeli army radio report that Clinton had warned the Israelis he would support a Palestinian state if no West Bank agreement was reached. That, Rubin said, did not "resemble any account that I've heard at the Wye talks and I find it difficult to imagine."

Asked if the USA could live with an agreement on only some points, an administration official said: "Our objective is to resolve the issues, to reach agreement on the interim issues so we can move to final status talks."

Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai and newly appointed Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, who arrived here yesterday, also joined the talks. Talking to reporters on his arrival, Mordechai said he was optimistic. Security men then whisked him and Sharon off for a meeting over breakfast of Netanyahu's "kitchen cabinet."

A Palestinian negotiator claimed if a breakthrough was not achieved by Monday, Clinton could ask them to stay until Thursday.

Petroleum Minister to visit Russia

MOSCOW, Oct 19 — Indian Petroleum Minister V. K. Ramamurthy will arrive here on October 21 on what will be the first visit to Russia by a minister of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's government.

Mr Ramamurthy, visiting the country at the invitation of Russia's Minister of Fuel and Energy Sergei Generalov will be accompanied by senior officials of India's energy sector, including the chairmen of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), ONGC Videsh (overseas), and the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

The three-day visit is expected to be a milestone in relations between India and Russia since it would be the first such trip after the formation of the new Russian government which is expected by analysts here to give greater importance to ties with New Delhi.

Mr Ramamurthy is to discuss a number of proposals for developing cooperation in the energy sector with Mr Generalov. The Indian delegation is also to discuss a host of proposals with leading figures of the Russian fuel and energy establishment, including the chairmen of Gasprom, the world's largest gas company, and Lukoil, Russia's biggest oil firm.

The proposals include possible participation of Indian oil companies in offshore and onshore projects in Sakhalin, Tatarstan and the Caspian Sea.

The two sides will also consider Indian participation in developing a gas project in the Russian federation for export of liquefied natural gas to India as well as collaboration in projects in third countries, such as development of gas in Iran.

Both countries can benefit enormously from such projects as in the past when India used to get 5 million barrels of crude oil annually at a cheap rate from the erstwhile Soviet Union through Iraq under a tripartite agreement.

Mr Ramamurthy will lead the Indian delegation to the fifth meeting of the Indo-Russian working group on petroleum and natural gas in preparation for the annual session of the Indo-Russian Joint Commission on trade, economic, cultural, defence, scientific and technical cooperation.

This session had been planned to precede the visit to India by Russian President Boris Yeltsin, scheduled for December 6. However, indications are that his India trip would be cancelled on account of Yeltsin's deteriorating health and mounting political problems.

The Indian minister is also expected to meet Yuri Maslyukov, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister, who has been appointed co-chairman of the joint commission.

Indian immigration to Canada drops

VANCOUVER (British Columbia), Oct 19 (IANS) — Even though there has been a drop in the number of Indians immigrating to Canada over the past year, India continues to be the second biggest source country.

Canada's Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Lucienne Robillard said there had been a shift in the source countries with China graduating from the fourth slot to first since 1995. Indians continue to occupy the second slot though their actual admissions have fallen considerably.

Canada admitted 16,024 immigrants from India during 1995, which soared to 21,169 in 1996 but slipped to 19,541 the following year. During January-September this year, only 11,381 Indians migrated.

Though Canada was unlikely to meet its target of immigrants projected for this year, there was no change in the projections for the coming year. The projected landings for 1998 were estimated to be between 180,000 and 200,000, much below the planning range of 200,000 and 225,000 forecast last year, the minister said.

Robillard, however, allayed any apprehensions and said, "We will not reduce our estimated targets for next year. We want to send a strong message that Canada's doors are open. We hope to welcome between 2,00,000 and 2,25,000 people in 1999."

The minister was quoted as saying by Link newspaper that the main reason for the decline was the financial crisis in Asia. Since most of Canada's immigrants in recent years had come from that region, the current fiscal uncertainty and roller coaster stock markets had led many people to review their plans to emigrate, he said.

Approximately 15,000 visas were wasted this year because of the last-minute change of heart by people, who had been cleared to immigrate, Robillard said.

The minister emphasised that the current decline in immigration was primarily in the economic component of the programme, that is, those selected for their skills. With regard to family class, the number of family members being sponsored is starting to rise.

Unveiling the Immigration Plan, 1999, Robillard said it was targeted to welcome 1,77,900 to 1,95,700 people in the immigrant category and 22,100 to 29,300 in the refugee category next year. Giving the break-up, he said the target for skilled workers ranged from 1,00,200 to 1,11,200, those in the business category from 17,700 to 19,700, for spouses, fiancées and children from 38,000 to 41,000, that for parents and grandparents from 15,500 to 17,300 and for special categories 6,500.

The minister affirmed that the government would meet its target for government-assisted refugees selected abroad since the humanitarian component of the immigration programme remained very important in consonance with "our commitment to help those in need."

He said while 7,300 government-assisted refugees would be admitted next year, the number of privately-sponsored refugees would range from 2,800 to 4,000, the share of refugees landed in Canada would be 10,000 to 15,000 and that of dependants abroad would account for 2,000 to 3,000.

Robillard hinted at greater involvement of the provinces in annual planning of the immigration intake in future to create greater opportunities to maximise benefits for all Canadians.

He said the immigration department continued to work with labour market partners such as Human Resources Development, Canada, and private sector organisations to ensure that "we select economic immigrants who are able to integrate quickly and make a positive contribution to the Canadian economy."

The minister also indicated that he would be shortly tabling a new Citizenship Act.