Thiruvananthapuram : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the United Progressive Alliance Government had not deviated from the basic objectives of the foreign policy, and it was only seeking a larger space in international affairs.

Addressing a special convention of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee here, he said the nation could not be tied down to its past. It needed flexibility of tactics, depending on the changes the world over.

There was a bid to create confusion that the Government was deviating from the foreign policy laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

"In terms of basic objectives, there is no change. What we are trying to do is not a deviation but an attempt to widen our horizon."

Ties with U.S., China

The country had made efforts to improve relations with the U.S., Russia and China. In the case of Pakistan, steps had been taken to improve relations with it despite difficulties arising out of its support to terror activities.

India wanted to maintain good relations with all neighbours. "We need peace in our neighbourhood and [to] share prosperity with them. An international environment would provide the opportunity for us to develop."

India was also looking at Central Asia and West Asia. Chinese President Hu Jintao was expected to visit India, while Russian President Vladimir Putin would be the chief guest at the 2007 Republic Day parade.

Tackling poverty

Poverty and incidence of diseases were major challenges. It was essential that the economy attained a growth rate of over 8 per cent per annum. If that happened, there would be a visible impact on poverty reduction.

However, a faster growth rate alone was not enough. There was need to reorient the policies to address the poorest of the poor.

They should be made to participate actively in development.

The Rural Employment Guarantee Programme would be extended to all districts in the country.

The Bharat Nirman programme would take urban amenities to rural areas, in terms of connectivity and electricity and related sectors.

The UPA Government had completed two-and-a-half years in office but the Opposition (the BJP-led NDA) did not bring up any issue. These parties were only quarrelling among themselves. "Advani was quarrelling with Vajpayee and Vajpayee was quarrelling with Rajnath Singh," the Prime Minister said.

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