|
Address by Foreign Secretary at the 3rd
MEA-IISS Seminar on “Perspectives on Foreign Policy for a 21st
Century India”
22/02/2010
Mr. Adam Ward, Director of Studies,
Distinguished Participants
I am delighted to be here today to open the MEA-IISS Seminar and to
speak to such an august gathering of diplomats, scholars and
experts. The MEA-IISS Foreign Policy Dialogue has, from modest
beginnings, now become a dynamic platform, facilitating wide-ranging
exchanges between scholars and experts from India and the UK.
Given the rather broad canvas of the topic that I have been asked to
speak on, I have structured my presentation along the following
lines. First, a delineation of our foreign policy priorities, and
how our approach is shaped by a globalizing world. Thereafter, I
shall focus on the three issues – climate change, nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation, and terrorism - which form part
of this seminar today. I will conclude with a few remarks on India’s
neighbourhood.
Our Republic is sixty years young this year. And, our foreign policy
also has a trajectory that covers almost the same period. As the
country has grown, so also our foreign policy has evolved and
adjusted to the growing demands and challenges posed by rapid
economic growth, the situation in our neighbourhood, the realization
of our interdependence and integration into global markets, and our
consciousness of what India stands for in a changing and often
turbulent world as a pluralistic democratic country that has created
a successful standard for managing diversity. As far as the last
aspect is concerned, some call it the power of the Indian example,
of a big country that symbolizes the universal values of
inclusiveness, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. This self image
is not new; in fact, from the very early years of the founding of
our Republic, there has been awareness that our ability to manage
diversity and respect pluralism would as some scholars have noted,
be “a source of (India’s) legitimacy in the international system”.
It is a foreign policy truism that our aim is to secure an enabling
environment to achieve the overriding domestic goal of all round,
socially inclusive development. The corollary to this is that a free
and democratic India is a source of stability and a force for
moderation in the region. India accounts for more than 70% of the
population and more than 80% of the GDP of South Asia. We want to
widen our development choices. We have a keen sense of our potential
to be a great power by virtue of our population, our resources and
our strategic location. A fundamental goal of India’s foreign policy
is to create an external environment that promotes the fulfillment
of our economic growth targets and ambitions. And, these include
three dimensions – capital inflows, access to technology and
innovation, as well as the promotion of a free, fair and open world
trading system that recognizes the development imperatives of a
country like India. This requires a peaceful and stable
neighbourhood and external environment, a balanced relationship with
the major powers and a durable and equitable multilateral global
order.
We close the first decade of this century with the realization that
the intersection, and the overlap, between the national and the
global is an undeniable reality. Consequently, the challenges before
us – be it sustaining economic growth rates, putting in place
poverty alleviation strategies, addressing the challenge of climate
change, energy security or global security issues, in particular the
threat posed by international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction, etc – all require collaborative approaches.
That we live in an increasingly inter-dependent world was clearly
demonstrated as never before during the global economic and
financial crisis of the last year and more. The global financial
downturn has seen negative rates of growth, a rising tide of
unemployment which is yet to be quelled, rising trends of
protectionism in the developed world, particularly, and a welcome
introspection about the need to reform global financial institutions
and systems of financial regulation and governance. That we are in a
period of transition where the rapidly resurgent economies outside
the traditional circles of global economic dominance are setting a
new pace and direction in regional and international growth and
development is an absolute truth.
At the global level, India has worked with our international
partners to address the complex challenges to revive the global
economy. The 2008 global economic and financial crisis triggered the
further evolution of the G20, of which India is a key constituent.
At the Pittsburgh Summit, the G-20 was designated as the premier
forum for international economic cooperation. We see the G-20
process as a move towards a more representative mechanism to manage
global economic and financial issues. The Group has taken some
positive steps in this direction, for instance by committing a shift
in IMF quota share to dynamic emerging markets and developing
countries. Simultaneously, the new global realities require that we
revisit and reorganize existing governance models which were put in
place over six decades ago. In this regard, a dynamic global
political and security order requires the urgent reform of the UN
Security Council as well. We see our case for permanent membership
of the Security Council as valid and legitimate.
India’s growth in the four years preceding the onset of the global
financial crisis was around 9%. In 2008, with the advent of the
global financial crisis, India’s growth slowed down to 6.7%.
Forecasts for the current year are for a growth rate of 7.75%.
Today, India has emerged as the third largest economy in Asia. It is
a trillion dollar economy and has joined the ranks of the top ten
economies of the world. In a knowledge- and technology-driven world,
India has demonstrated certain unique strengths – our IT exports for
the current year are poised to touch the $50 billion figure; the
December 2009 index of industrial production surged month-on-month
by a record 16.8%. Cumulative industrial growth is pegged at around
9%. The most noticeable feature of India’s economic growth is that
it is driven primarily by domestic demand.
Yet, we also need to acknowledge that while average growth of around
7% over the past few years has resulted in material difference for
India this has not been enough. To abolish poverty in India and to
meet our development needs, we need to keep our economy growing at
8-10% every year for the next 20 years. As the literacy levels of
our largely young population go up, we will have to ensure that
their employment needs are also met which means that we require a
rapidly expanding economy and the infrastructural growth of our
cities and manufacturing sectors, so that we can reap the advantage
of this demographic dividend for our economic growth. This also
means that nation building or socio-economic transformation in India
would continue to be primary concern of our foreign policy and this
is accordingly reflected in our positions on issues such as global
trade and climate change.
I will now turn to the three specific issues that are a part of your
deliberations. In doing so, I do not in any way wish to influence or
set the tone for your discussions. Instead, I will merely share
India’s perspective on these issues.
Climate change
Climate change is one of the most important global challenges facing
us. For India, it is not merely an environmental issue, but is
intrinsically linked with the growth prospects and developmental
aspirations of our people. Its impact on the pace of our development
is a very clear and continuing concern.
Our developmental imperatives project a general trend of growth in
energy consumption in India. We expect that fossil fuels will remain
an important element of our commercial energy mix. The emerging
paradigm of global action on climate change must, therefore,
acknowledge every human’s claim to global carbon space and take
account of our differential capacities. Despite 17% of the global
population, our own GHG emissions today are currently only 4% of the
global total. Even with 8-9% growth per annum, our energy use has
been growing at less than 4% per annum. We are concerned that the
developed countries tend towards ignoring, implicitly, the huge
adaptation challenge that we face with climate change. Today we
spend 2% to 2.5% of our GDP on meeting adaptation needs. There is
need for stable and predictable financing from the developed
countries, and this we believe should not rely on market mechanisms
but, rather, on assessed contributions. There is also need for a
global mechanism whereby climate friendly technologies can be
disseminated to the developing countries.
As a country vulnerable to and already suffering from the impacts of
climate change, India has an important stake in the success of the
on-going multilateral negotiations under the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change. We are aware of our responsibilities as citizens
of the globe and have participated in the negotiations in a
constructive manner. It is in this spirit that we conveyed our
voluntary mitigation obligations to the UNFCCC in January this year.
We were of course disappointed that an agreed programme of action
mandated by the Bali Roadmap could not be achieved at Copenhagen.
The Copenhagen Accord was perhaps the best that could be managed
under the circumstances. It is a political document that can serve
the purpose of contributing to the negotiations on the Kyoto
Protocol and on Long Term Cooperation. It can complement these core
international agreements but cannot be a substitute for them. Our
collective effort should now be to bring the significant points of
convergence reflected in the Accord into the larger multilateral
process under the UNFCCC in order to ensure a balanced,
comprehensive and above all, an equitable outcome, at the Mexico
Conference by end-2010.
Nationally, we have adopted an ambitious Action Plan on Climate
Change, which is not merely mitigation oriented, but is located
within a larger perspective of sustainable development. Prime
Minister has set up a high level Council on Climate Change to
coordinate national action for assessment, adaptation and mitigation
of climate change. Our announcement of the voluntary domestic target
of reducing the energy intensity of our GDP growth, excluding
emissions from the Agricultural sector, by 20-25% by 2020 in
comparison to the level achieved in 2005 reflects India’s
seriousness in addressing the issue of climate change with
commitment and focus, even as it seeks to meet the challenges of
economic and social development and poverty eradication.
Till date, the global energy market has been susceptible to
non-market considerations which give energy issues an unpredictable
and strategic edge. We believe that these vulnerabilities are best
addressed through a participatory global energy model and by
pursuing a truly open, transparent, competitive and globally
integrated energy market. The reality as we know is quite the
reverse. Therefore, we visualise that, as a developing country, an
emissions reduction strategy to be comprehensive has to embrace both
conservation and efficiency. With a large and rising demand for
energy, we assess nuclear technologies to be a viable long-term
solution in helping us correct the skew in our energy mix. The
underlying determinant in this calculus is the environmental
dimension and the associated costs of large-scale deployment of
traditional carbon fuels, particularly coal. In this regard, nuclear
power generation, despite its high entry level costs, provides a way
out, particularly in relation to the wider issues of global warming
and climate change.
Nuclear disarmament & non-proliferation
I am aware that concerns are voiced over the possible proliferation
dimension in the use of nuclear energy. This should, however, not
deter us from pursuing the development of nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes. India is fully cognizant of the safety and
security implications arising from the expansion of the peaceful
uses of nuclear energy. We must instead work together with our
partners to help reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.
The challenges of nuclear terrorism and nuclear security have to be
addressed. We have been affected by clandestine nuclear
proliferation in our neighbourhood. We are naturally concerned about
the possibility of nuclear terrorism. We have, therefore, taken the
lead at the UN General Assembly on an effective law-based
international response including on WMD terrorism. India has joined
the Russia-U.S. led Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.
We believe that the Nuclear Security Summit in April 2010 hosted by
President Obama will be an important milestone in our efforts to
build international cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism.
The constructive and forward-looking approach that was adopted
towards India in September 2008 by the NSG has enabled full
international civil nuclear cooperation with India as also our
nuclear energy cooperation agreements with major partners including
the United States, Russia, France and the UK. These constitute not
only a long overdue recognition of India’s standing as a country
with advanced nuclear technology and responsible behaviour but have
also opened up significant opportunities for technical
collaboration. I believe that this change would also serve as an
important step towards strengthening international partnerships to
ensure that advanced nuclear technologies are only utilized for
peaceful purposes.
You are well aware of India’s long-standing commitment to global,
non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament. As early as
1988, our then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi presented one of the most
comprehensive proposals to achieve a nuclear weapon free world to
the UN General Assembly. In 2006, India tabled a Working Paper on
nuclear disarmament to the UNGA. We feel encouraged by some recent
positive steps. President Obama’s administration has signaled US
willingness to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in its nuclear
strategy and to work towards a nuclear weapon free world. The
renewed debate underway on this issue harmonizes with our long held
positions.
We have identified some initiatives that I believe could be explored
further as building blocks of a new global, verifiable nuclear
disarmament framework. These include: a global agreement on
‘no-first-use’ of nuclear-weapons and non-use against non-nuclear
weapon states; measures to reduce nuclear danger through
de-alerting, reducing salience of nuclear weapons in security
doctrines and preventing unintentional or accidental use; a Nuclear
Weapons Convention prohibiting development, production, stockpiling
and use of nuclear weapons and on their destruction etc..
We hope that we can achieve progress in the Conference on
Disarmament. We will support the emerging consensus in the CD to
adopt a programme of work. Last year, we supported the work plan
including commencement of negotiations on the multilateral FMCT. On
this latter issue, which we see as an important non-proliferation
measure, India has had a consistent position – we are willing to
negotiate a multilateral, non-discriminatory, effectively and
internationally verifiable FMCT.
Terrorism
Terrorism poses an existential threat to the civilized world. It is
a pivotal security challenge for India and in our neighbourhood.
Terrorists have sought to undermine our sovereignty, security and
economic progress, aided and abetted by forces beyond our borders.
Our embassy in Kabul has faced vicious suicide bomb attacks twice,
in 2008 and 2009. The Mumbai attacks of November 2008 and the more
recent outrage in Pune, have once again demonstrated the barbaric
face of terrorism. Terror groups implacably opposed to India
continue to recruit, train and plot attacks from safe havens across
our borders.
Open democratic societies such as India face particular challenges
in combating the threat of terrorism. The United Kingdom is also
familiar with this debate. We are acting nationally to address this
through legal, institutional and administrative measures. We have
recently amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 to
reinforce the legal and punitive provisions, including financing
aspects of terrorism. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has
been established as a federal body for investigation and prosecution
in respect of terrorist acts with all-India jurisdiction. Regional
hubs have been created for the National Security Guards. The
National Multi Agency Centre (MAC) has been strengthened and made
functional round the clock.
At the same time, it is clear that the threat from terrorism cannot
be dealt with through national efforts alone. Global outreach and
linkages among terror networks are now quite evident and they are
becoming more active. The global nature of the threat has been
recognized widely. Global efforts to tackle the problem also need to
be intensified. Terrorism needs to be countered collectively and
expeditiously. It is time that the international community works
towards early adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism that was tabled at the UN over a decade ago
in 1996. We must act jointly and with determination to meet the
challenges posed by terrorism and to defend the values of pluralism,
peaceful co-existence and the rule of law.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me turn to our neighbourhood. From India’s perspective, the goal
of ushering in a peaceful, stable and prosperous neighbourhood is
predicated on enabling each of our neighbors to pursue the shared
objective of the development of our peoples. We do not see this as a
zero sum game but as a cooperative endeavor, requiring collaboration
rather than confrontation, so as to enable each of our neighbours to
grow. We do not see this as a compulsion but as a natural choice
voluntarily made; a corollary of the inter-dependent world we live
in. We believe that our strengths place us in a unique position to
actively support the socio- economic development in our region.
The greatest threat to peace and stability in our region emanates
from the shelter terrorists find in the border of
Afghanistan-Pakistan and in Pakistan itself. The recent
international approaches to Afghanistan, in particular the London
Conference last month, are focusing on security and reintegration,
development, governance and regional and international cooperation.
The issue of reintegration should be tackled with prudence, the
benefit of hindsight, foresight and caution. We believe that any
integration process in Afghanistan should be Afghan-led, and should
include only those who abjure violence, give up armed struggle and
terrorism and are willing to abide by the values of democracy,
pluralism and human rights as enshrined in the Afghan Constitution.
For the Afghan Government to take greater ownership of security, it
is imperative that Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are
properly trained and equipped. Similarly, in order to stengthen
governance and institution-building, priority should be accorded to
building adequate capacity to deliver on developmental objectives.
It is self-evident that for this process to be enduring, Afghan
ownership should go hand in hand with Afghan leadership.
Afghanistan is centrally placed to emerge as a trade, transportation
and energy hub connecting Central and South Asia. The international
community must work together to realize this potential. Growing
economic interdependence would complement efforts to promote peace
and prosperity in the region.
India is an important neighbour of Afghanistan and we share
undeniably close ties that have endured through the centuries into
present times. Our focus there is on development activity with the
aim to build indigenous Afghan capacities and institutions. This
will enable an effective state system to improve the delivery of
goods and services to Afghan people. Our assistance, now over US$
1.3 billion, is spread over a large number of provinces in
Afghanistan. In addition to several small and medium development
projects, India has built the Zaranj-Delaram road and the power
transmission line from Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul. We are also
constructing Afghanistan's new Parliament building, a symbol of our
common commitment to pluralism and democracy. At the recent London
Conference, we have announced new initiatives in the agriculture
sector and in institutional capacity building.
Our relationship with Pakistan is complex. Out of our desire for
peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with Pakistan, we have
repeatedly taken initiatives in the past to improve the
relationship. You are aware that the dark forces of terrorism sought
to erase the good that stemmed from such well-intentioned
initiatives. We are now making another attempt of dialogue with
Pakistan. However, calls of jihad, hostility and aggression continue
to be made openly against India. This reflects the real and tangible
difficulties that we face in dealing with Pakistan. If the process
of normalization that we desire with Pakistan, is to be sustained
and taken forward, effective action against such groups by the
Government of Pakistan is an absolute must.
Under pressure and faced with the threat of terrorism in its own
country, Pakistan has initiated some steps to fight this scourge.
But these steps are selective. Distinctions between Taliban, Al
Qaeda and terrorist outfits such as LeT are now meaningless, since
they are now in effect fused both operationally and ideologically.
We have consistently maintained that Pakistan should bring the
perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice expeditiously
and in a transparent manner. It should act decisively to dismantle
the infrastructure of terrorism on its territory.
As I said previously, India is making another sincere attempt to
initiate dialogue with Pakistan. I have invited my counterpart, the
Foreign Secretary of Pakistan to Delhi for discussions later this
week. We hope we can build, in a graduated manner, better
communication and a serious and responsive dialogue to address
issues of concern between our two countries.
With Sri Lanka our political relations are close, trade and
investment have increased exponentially, and there is broad-based
engagement across all sectors of bilateral cooperation. We view the
conclusion of the military operations against the LTTE as providing
an opportunity to finally achieve a lasting political settlement
acceptable to all communities, including the Tamils, within a united
Sri Lanka.
Our relations with Bangladesh have acquired further substance and
scope in recent months, particularly after the very successful visit
of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January this year. Our
security related cooperation has developed positively as also our
cooperation in infrastructural development in Bangladesh, for which
we have announced a US $ 1 billion concessional Line of Credit.
It is a universally held truth that India’s economic growth has a
positive impact on our region. Today, with sustained high economic
growth rates over the past decade, India is in a better position to
offer a significant stake to our neighbours in our own prosperity
and growth. We have made unilateral gestures and extended economic
concessions such as the facility of duty free access to Indian
market for imports from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. We
have put forward proposals multilaterally within the framework of
the SAARC or the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
where we have assumed asymmetric responsibilities.
Turning to our extended neighbourhood, it is evident that with the
rapid rise of China and India, the global and regional situation is
being re-defined. There is much that is said about China’s rise and
its implications for India. There is both competition and
collaboration in the dynamic equilibrium of our relationship with
China. Both our countries have always thought in civilizational
time-frames. Even as we are discussing the unresolved boundary
question, we have ensured that there is peace and tranquility in our
border areas. China has emerged as India’s largest trading partner.
We are consulting each other on global issues such as multilateral
trade negotiations, climate change, and in the G-20, etc.
In the decade ahead, India will have to, as one writer noted
recently, provide itself with “the widest possible field of vision”
when it comes to China. This will entail not only a
multi-dimensional approach to developing relations with China but
also creating our menu of strategic options to ensure that we are
able to protect and promote our interests effectively in our region.
Key elements in the India-China relationship like imbalances in
bilateral trade, the unresolved boundary question, our dialogue on
water resources with regard to the trans-border rivers like the
Brahmaputra and the Sutlej point to the complex and evolving nature
of our dialogue. The rapid growth of our economies has engendered a
search for resources by both countries in third countries and
regions across the globe. In some cases we have developed patterns
of collaboration with the Chinese, in others, we have been in
competition. This is the reality of the relationship. In our own
region, which remains geo-politically unstable, China has an
enduring strategic relationship with Pakistan, and a growing
presence in other neighbouring countries. We are conscious of these
leverages that China has developed in our region and realize fully
that our relations with China cannot be uni-dimensional, or seen
through a narrow prism. Our own relations with our South Asian
neighbours acquire crucial importance in this scenario. Our economic
strength and increased commitment to the economic development of our
neighbourhood in South Asia, sustained dialogue at the leadership
level, security-related dialogue especially as it relates to better
border management, cooperation in health, education and
environment-related sectors, and creating the infrastructure for
better intra-regional connectivity and transportation, together with
the attraction of India’s soft power are all factors that can be,
and are being, mobilized in this context.
With Japan, we are developing the foundations of “strategic global
partnership” with a strong economic and strategic content. Recent
years have seen a qualitative shift in relations with defence
dialogue and security cooperation emerging as important aspects of
our relations. Our relations with the United States are in a new and
transformative phase, with convergences in foreign policy
priorities, and shared approaches to some of the most complex
regional and global challenges of our times – from countering
terrorism to working together for energy security, mitigating the
impact of climate change to maritime security, nuclear security and
safeguarding the global commons to name a few areas. With Russia,
our strategic partnership has been continuously strengthened, and
our multi-faceted relations span a number of sectors including
defence, nuclear energy, space research, science and technology and
hydrocarbons. Our ties with France have been further enhanced
through regular summit-level meetings and the triad of cooperation
in the civil nuclear, defence and space sectors. The
India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) and the Russia-India-China (RIC)
cooperation forums have also helped us engage more closely with
these countries in forging ties of dialogue and cooperation on
economic and development-related issues.
India’s engagement with the ASEAN has grown manifold over the past
decade and half and is set to get a fillip with the conclusion of
the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement.
Myanmar is an ASEAN member country with which we share a border of
more than 1640 kms. We have advocated engagement with Myanmar since
it is a close neighbour of ours. It is important for India to ensure
a peaceful periphery with Myanmar. We strongly believe that any
political reform process in Myanmar should be peaceful and not cause
instability within that country or on our borders with it. We have
urged the Government of Myanmar to take forward the process of
national reconciliation and political reform and broad-base it to
include all sections of society, including the more than 18 ethnic
groups in the country.
On the security architecture for the region, there is a need to
evolve a balanced, open and inclusive framework for Asian countries
and major non-Asian players to interact and cooperate to address
traditional and non-traditional security challenges. The ASEAN
Regional Forum has provided a useful model for such cooperation
based on dialogue and consensus in diverse areas such as counter
terrorism, trans-national crimes, maritime security, disaster
relief, pandemics and nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
India is also a member of the Conference on Interaction and
Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). We have also partnered
with the international community in deploying an Indian naval
presence for anti-piracy escort operations to ensure maritime
security in the Gulf of Aden.
Before I finish, let me say a few words about our relations with the
UK. The UK is an important interlocutor for us in the bilateral, EU,
G8 and global contexts and our multi-faceted bilateral relationship
has intensified specially since its upgradation to strategic
partnership in 2004. Our engagement is most wide-ranging including
high-level visits, parliamentary and official-level exchanges,
business interaction and cultural interchanges. President Pratibha
Patil was on a State visit to the UK from 27-29 October 2009. There
have been regular exchanges of visits at the Prime Minister-level.
Institutional linkages have continued through regular FOCs, JWG and
India-UK Round Table. Our trade and investment partnerships are
both-ways and expanding rapidly. India is the second largest source
of students to UK with about 31,000 students. Science & technology
is a focus area for our two countries. On 11 February 2010, we
signed a Joint Declaration on civil nuclear cooperation which will
give a new dimension to our already multi-dimensional and vibrant
ties.
Once again I want to say how delighted I am to be with you this
morning and to be given the privilege to be a part of your
deliberations. I have no doubt that the MEA-IISS relationship will
scale greater heights in times to come which is a tribute to your
vision and long-term perspective about the need for the world to
engage India more closely, to forge understandings, and to promote
more inclusive dialogue with key stakeholders on both sides. I wish
the deliberations of the seminar success.
London
February 22, 2010 |
