NEW DELHI, Nov 5: Affirming India’s commitment to make "an honest and sincere effort" to resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, however, made it clear that this was conditional on President Pervez Musharraf not allowing Pakistani territory to be used for cross-border terrorism. "We are committed to make an honest and sincere effort to resolve all outstanding issues (with Pakistan)," Singh said during a question-answer session after he delivered his keynote address at the `Hindustan Times leadership initiative conference’ here. "The only condition", he said, "is that the commitment that was made by President Musharraf in January with (then) Prime Minister (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee that territory of Pakistan will not be allowed to be used for purposes of cross-border terrorism, if that commitment is honoured in letter and spirit I think the two Governments have—at least we certainly have the will to engage Pakistan in a constructive dialogue towards resolving all outstanding issues bilaterally, and that included the issue of including Jammu and Kashmir". A galaxy of eminent personalities including Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kuamaratunga, former British Prime Minister John Major, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Pakistan’s cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, Union Ministers and members of Parliament are attending the two-day conference. The Prime Minister and other guests were welcomed by Hindustan Times vice-chairperson and editorial director Shobhana Bhartia. In his wide-ranging address on the theme ‘India and the world: A blueprint for partnership and growth’, the Prime Minister touched upon issues relating to the country’s foreign policy, its economy and its democracy. Maintaining that India was a responsible nuclear power, Singh said it was firmly committed to nuclear non-proliferation and would cooperate with the world community to prevent proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and deal with the threat of terrorism. India, he said, will also pursue energy security within a cooperative framework working with other countries to ensure security of oil supplies, of pipelines and sea-lanes of communication. "We will continue to strengthen our wide-ranging and many-sided relationship with the United States, European Union and Russia," he said. The Prime Minister said India wanted mutually beneficial relations with all its Asian neighbours and would work closely to realise "our combined aspiration to make the 21st century an Asian century. "We would like to see widening and deepening of our economic relations with China, Japan and the member countries of ASEAN, the Central Asian Republics and our traditional friends in west Asia and Africa," he said. Singh said "as a responsible nuclear power, we are firmly committed to nuclear non-proliferation and will cooperate with the world community to prevent proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and deal with the threat of terrorism". The Prime Minister said New Delhi wanted a neighbourhood of "peace and shared prosperity" in which people, goods and services could travel with ease across borders. "South Asia must regain its pre-eminence in the global economy as a sub-continent of creativity and enterprise," he said. The Prime Minister said his Government would like to inject new energy into regional associations like the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BOMSTEC). "It is in our shared interest to wage a joint struggle against poverty and ignorance" the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister said that his Government would like to give the highest priority to an acceleration of the rate of economic growth through a proces of economic and social development that is equitable and just. "India has to be an active trading nation and is therefore committed to strengthening a rule-based transparent and consensual multilateral trading regime," he said. Maintaining that he would like to see closer and wider economic engagement between India and its Asian neighbourhood, he said he would like the country’s business leaders to explore the full potential of the creation of an Asian economic community. The world, he said, has increasingly come to accept that open societies and open markets are the most natural and stable form of social and economic organisation. "What is now increasingly clear is that an inclusive democracy, based on the principles of pluralism and multi-culturalism, is the most enduring means of dealing with the challenges posed by open markets and open societies," he said. Contending that the world community has been actively engaged in recent years in dealing with the perceived threat of globalisation and political extremism in its various manifestations, ranging from ethnic cleansing to "Jehadism", he said, "there are no military solutions to such challenges. "There are no unilateral solutions either. Any meaningful solution must be based on the principles of democratic pluralism and inclusivism, the respect of the rule of law and of diversity of opinion and faith. The voice of moderation has to be empowered in all societies to make the world a better place to live in. The principle of an `eye for an eye, as Gandhiji often reminded us, would leave us all blind," he said. Referring to the idea that even if nations may clash with one another, cultures and civilisations can co-exist, Singh said "the defining feature of the 21st century is not that it will be marked by a clash of civilisations, but that it will be shaped by a confluence of civilisations". Stating that the world community could deal more meaningfully with the challenge of globalisation and the threat of terrorism by enabling a dialogue between nations and a confluence of civilisations, he said India must actively engage the world towards this end. "By rejecting the politics of exclusion and voting in favour of the values of secularism and pluralism that we cherish, the people of India have once again given us a reason to hold our head high in the comity of nations." Replying to a question on the priorities before him, now that he has spent six months in office, Singh said he wanted to focus on agriculture, infrastructure development and education and health to provide a boost to the economy. With the education provided by the IITs and the management institution and India’s achievements in the IT revolution and the opportunities in various sectors coming up, the country has proved that "we are second to none", he said. (PTI) |
