The Hindu : Front Page : "Good ties with U.S. not at the cost of others"

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Wednesday, Sep 13, 2006
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"Good ties with U.S. not at the cost of others"

N. Ravi

Improved relations with all nations vital for development, says Manmohan

Brasilia: Spelling out the philosophy behind his foreign policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the media on Tuesday on board the aircraft from Frankfurt to Brasilia that improved relations with a whole range of countries was essential for faster development.

Asked how he proposed to play with so many pieces on the foreign policy board, he noted, "As have-nots of the world, we have to toss all the balls." To him, foreign policy was essentially a device to widen the nation's development options. The foremost task was to get rid of chronic poverty, ignorance and disease, and the country needed a strong economy.

Whether it was improving relations with the United States or China or cooperating with other developing countries, the effort was to make use of all opportunities for expanding economic and other contacts. His current visit to Brazil for bilateral talks and for the trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa summit and then to Havana for the Non-aligned summit fitted into this overall picture.

Social engineering

Dr. Singh said his efforts would be to make globalisation more inclusive even as domestic growth had to be inclusive. There were benefits to be had from the tremendous advances in science and technology, which could be used to improve the human condition all round. The means and the technology existed to make it possible as never before to abolish poverty, ignorance and disease. What was missing was the social engineering. There was a global economy of sorts, but not a caring global polity. The structure of governance at the international level had to be made democratic so that globalisation could be made as inclusive as possible.

Asked if India would not be isolated among the non-aligned because of its closer ties with the U.S., the Prime Minister said India's stand was fully in conformity with the vision of the founding fathers of the republic. Non-alignment was a state of mind — the ability to exercise an independent judgment on all issues — and continued to have its relevance.

"I do not buy the argument that most members of the non-aligned movement do not want good relations with the U.S. We are not seeking good relations with the U.S. at the cost of other countries," he said. Expanding relations with the U.S. would in no way contradict or run counter to the interests of other countries.

On his visit to Brazil, Dr. Singh said there were many complementarities between the two countries. India could learn from its agricultural universities and research, from its ethanol initiative, and the way it had become nearly self-sufficient in energy and in science and technology. Similarly, Brazil could learn a great deal from the Indian development experience.

Football coaches

Information Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi had asked him to raise the matter of Brazil providing football coaches to India. There was a great deal to be learnt from Cuba, as from China, in the areas of universal literacy and healthcare.

Asked if India had moved away from the NAM principle of universal nuclear disarmament, the Prime Minister said though India was a nuclear weapons state, its commitment to disarmament remained strong. It was the country's civilisational heritage from Gandhi, Nehru, and Rajiv Gandhi, who made concrete proposals for disarmament at the United Nations General Assembly. India would update and present the ideas to the General Assembly this year and would support any NAM initiative. "But one has to be realistic enough to recognise that this is not going to happen overnight," he said.

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