PM says India wants very good relations with all neighbours

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India sought a peaceful and tranquil international environment as well as very good relations with all countries, especially with its neighbours and major powers.

Addressing the third Conference of Indian Heads of Missions (HOMS) which began here this morning, Dr Singh told the country's top diplomats that India's foreign policy should also be oriented towards East and South East Asia, which were poised for a sustained growth rate in the 21st centry.

He remarked that India, by and large, had good relations with her neighbours. "We are engaging them without looking at reciprocity, in our own enlightened interest," he said.

The Prime Minister said India's foreign policy was basically aimed at pursuing its national interests. He said Indian diplomats were facilitating the creation of an international environment that was conducive to India’s progress, development and attainment of its external goals.

Outlining his vision of India, the Prime Minister said that the foremost national goal was to remove poverty and accelerate the pace of economic development.

He said the country was building modern infrastructure which would stand up to the challenge of a fast moving economy. The nation was also focusing on human resource development, as it was the quality of human resources that determined the standing of a country in the comity of nations, he said.

Dr Singh said that, by the same token, science and technology was a major factor of power and wealth of a nation. India had to have the ability to master technology, he emphasized.

He pointed out that India was among the fastest growing economies in the world, which despite the global melt down in 2008-09, had returned to a growth path of 8.5%. Energy availability was critical to attaining a 9-10% growth rate, as 1% growth needed 0.8% increase in energy availability. Foreign policy had a very important role in securing India’s energy needs, he stressed.

Turning to the international environment, the Prime Minister noted that, in an increasingly inter-dependent world, India needed an open trading system and wanted to emerge as a major trading nation in the world.

He said the G20 had become a key forum for discussing and shaping international economic and financial policies. Foreign policy had also to pay more attention to functioning of G20, he added.

The three-day conference, which was inaugurated this morning by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, will discuss a wide spectrum of foreign policy issues, including developments in India's immediate and extended neighbourhood.

The first of these conferences was held in December 2008 and the second in August last year.

As many as 119 HOMs from Indian Embassies and High Commissions around the world are attending the conference.

The HOMs will also call on President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President M Hamid Ansari, a former career diplomat, during their stay here.

Among others, the conference was addressed by Union Home MInister P Chidambaram today. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) President Karan Singh and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon are also slated to speak at the conference.

The HOMs will participate in a series of interactive sessions which will also cover India's relations with key nations and regions as well as regional and international issues of importance to India.

They will also interact with distinguished personalities from business and industry, including Mr. Gurcharan Das and Ms. Indra Nooyi, during sessions being organized by industry associations such as CII and FICCI.

NNN

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