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Press Release
Address by His Excellency Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs
Minister at the CII National Conference 2008 on “India’s Foreign Policy”
(New Delhi; April
29, 2008)
INDIA’S
FOREIGN POLICY
Shri Sunil Bharti Mittal, President, Confederation of Indian Industry,
Captains of Indian Industry and Distinguished Guests,
Ladies & Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure for me to address this august gathering of eminent
businesspersons from all over India. I congratulate the awardees of the
CII President Awards. You have truly proved yourselves outstanding in
dedicated service to industry. Your vision, entrepreneurship, dynamism,
and your achievements have contributed to making India a major global
economic and technological success story.
Your present Conference theme “Building People, Building India” is
timely and representative of your balanced, far-sighted priorities.
Human resource is the single most important input in any human endeavour,
and so it is for advancing India to its destination of our dreams.
To all CII members present here today and those all over the country, I
extend my felicitations on your Annual Session. The Confederation of
Indian Industry has indeed been a positive and worthy partner to
Government of India in its efforts to promote development and growth in
the country. I believe your antecedents go back to 1895, a world which
was vastly different from that which we face now. Since then, you have
proved to be an effective voice for industry, a champion of reforms and
liberalization and an active instrument for promoting competitiveness of
Indian companies. These efforts have helped Indian industry gain
confidence in itself, look beyond its own shores, and venture out into
the world economic arena. You are the true ambassadors of a new India.
CII’s partnership has
been particularly valuable since the early 1990s, a period during which
economic reforms were unleashed in India. More important, the face of
the world changed in this period. The Soviet Union collapsed,
globalization became a way of life, and technological advancement
compressed time and distance. All these transformed the political and
economic landscape, leading us to restructure our thinking. In the
current century again, economic forces seem to be shifting from the West
to Asia, as a resurgent region reprises its former glory. During this
period, CII has been active in welcoming deeper relations with all
regions of the world, and has helped India in its globalization process.
In my remarks this evening I will seek to outline the contours of
India’s Foreign Policy. I will focus on the implications of
globalization on India’s economic security and how we should posture
ourselves in our way forward in tune with the emerging international
order.
Foreign policy of a country is the pursuit of national interests,
deriving essentially from its overall national policies, its future
goals, and the self perception of its role and destiny in the world.
India’s approach to the world is naturally a function of our values,
civilisational heritage, historical experience, and geography. It is
also of how we perceive our interests, based on principles and a broad
national consensus.
India’s engagement with
the world has been based on a desire to establish a peaceful, secure and
equitable world order. The objectives of our foreign policy have been to
sustain an international environment conducive to our growth and
development, alleviate poverty, and foster equity and prosperity for our
citizens. Peace and security in our neighborhood, and in the larger
region, are a vital consideration in our strategies. Our commitment to
disarmament, non-proliferation and responsible use of nuclear technology
has underlined our role in international security. We have engaged with
major powers on multiple issues and challenges. We have contributed to
international peacekeeping efforts under the aegis of the UN, and
remained active in combating terrorism. In the aftermath of natural
disasters in Asia, India has been swift in its response, bringing succor
to many.
Our policy of non-alignment is our ability to judge and to act on our
own judgment on the basis of enlightened self-interest, so that we are
not passive observers or recipients, but are contributing to shaping a
global order. Our policy further seeks to nurture and increase our
activism in traditional constituencies in the developing world.
We also strive for India to be a factor of stability and a voice of
moderation in the world, whose progress is beneficial to the creation of
an equitable, peaceful and stable world order. Our civilisational
philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumabkam, perceiving the world as one
large family, has shaped our approach as equitable rather than self-centred.
Even as we draw from the world, we remain ready to contribute. We are
now a net aid donor, extending a broad spectrum of technical cooperation
to some 156 nations.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The Indian economy has been completely transformed from what it was in
1947, or even two decades ago. Since the economic reforms program
initiated in the early 1990s to integrate India with the world economy,
we have steadily moved ahead toward greater openness to trade and
investment. Today the robust Indian economy is attracting widespread
foreign investment and has emerged as an internationally competitive
market economy. India’s share in the global flows of goods, services,
knowledge and culture has grown significantly over the past decade.
India’s contribution to the global economy continues to rise, aided by
the ‘demographic dividend’, the intangible gains of the global knowledge
economy, and the expansion of India’s soft power.
Our capabilities and new responsibilities have led India to rediscover
its global role in international security. India's global engagement has
increased dramatically in recent years. Our relations with all the major
powers are being strengthened, as well as with emerging economies in
Asia, Latin America and Africa. We are also investing energy in crafting
bilateral and multilateral trade arrangements and measures to promote
investment and technology flows.
One of our primary
strategic challenges is to restore traditional linkages within our
region and between the region and the rest of the world. Connectivity
would enable India’s reintegration into the immediate and extended
neighborhood, whether in Central Asia, South East Asia or West Asia.
This has led us to pursue actively cooperative arrangements such as
SAARC, BIMSTEC, our dialogue with ASEAN and in East Asia, the IBSA forum
with Brazil and South Africa, RIC - the trilateral initiative with
Russia and China, and the recent India-Africa Summit. In pursuance of a
vision of prosperity, India’s political and economic ties with the
Asia-Pacific region are also growing, and we are also developing closer
linkages with major powers like the United States, Japan, the European
Union and Russia. Today, India enjoys strategic partnerships of one kind
or another with about a dozen countries - and the EU. We are also clear
that the development of closer relations between India and any one
strategic partner need not be at the expense of relations with any third
country.
The Indian Ocean littoral
today has greater economic and strategic value to the world economy than
ever before. India has a natural and abiding stake in the safety and
security of the sea-lanes of communication from the Malacca Straits to
the Gulf. We have endeavoured to promote greater cooperation between
Indian Ocean littoral states.
To sustain growth and development, a peaceful and stable neighbourhood
is conducive, and must be given priority and special attention. We do
not believe in territorial expansion or in exporting ideology. We are
convinced that a stable and peaceful neighbourhood is essential to
India’s future. Our objective is to promote inter-dependence, create
stakes in each other’s stability, and develop cross border
infrastructure and other links. As the largest economy in the region,
India is ready to offer its market and resources as an engine for the
region’s growth. Since the 14th SAARC Summit hosted in New Delhi last
April, India has made every effort to strengthen SAARC, moving it from a
declaratory to an implementation phase. Our commitments to establish the
South Asian University, Model Community Development Initiative and
Tele-Medicine Project are already on ground.
As we now see, the
international landscape, too, is undergoing dramatic changes. The
current world order is one of “general un-alignment”, a de-hyphenation
of relationships, and re-engagement amongst several major powers in
informal alliances to deal with issues on the basis of convergence of
interests. No great power today pursues exclusive cooperation with
others, or asks us to limit ties with others. Indeed increased
cooperation with one power opens the doors further with others. For
the first time in India’s independent history, we are now on an upward
spiral of improving relations with all major powers.
India’s entrepreneurs and professionals have leveraged these changes to
create wealth and employment on an unprecedented scale. The changed
global landscape obviously requires the application of democratic
principles to global governance and management of the global diversity
as well. India is ready to assume still greater international
responsibilities, starting with a reformed and revitalized UN Security
Council, reflecting the present day realities.
The transformation in our
approach is not just in scope and content but in our attitudes too.
Today Indian diplomacy approaches the world and the opportunities that
await it with much greater confidence. We look forward to leveraging the
external environment to achieve faster growth.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The world today is increasingly multivalent, marked by considerable
political cooperation among major powers whose economies are becoming
inextricably intertwined with each other. The current global economy is
increasingly defined by freer and substantial movement of capital and by
the technology revolution, in particular information technology. While
capital is free to roam the world, other factors of production like
labour and technology are not, and access to markets remains patchy.
India’s development imperatives demand intensive economic engagement
with the rest of the world. India needs huge resources to foster
inclusive growth, both in terms of funds as well as in terms of natural
resources, energy resources, technology, and knowledge. Infrastructure
requirements alone are expected to cross $500 billion in the next five
years, and sustaining a 8-10% growth necessitates capital for
manufacturing, agriculture, and services sectors estimated at around
$1.5 trillion.
Global trade has an
undeniably important role in fighting the evil of poverty and fostering
economic development around the world. It however continues to face
considerable barriers and distortions, particularly in the agriculture
sector and by way of denial of access for trained manpower from the
developing to the developed economies. India remains fully committed to
the multilateral trading system. We eagerly look forward to early and
successful completion of the negotiations for the fulfilment of the
mandate agreed at Doha, with the development dimension at its core.
Technology access is another economic objective that we are giving high
priority. India has remained isolated from high-technology commerce due
to its position on nuclear energy. We hope to resolve this soon and
implement various agreements on civil nuclear cooperation. We will
continue to build a broad national political consensus on this issue so
as to realise early the promise inherent in the initiative.
We have also been looking at energy sources. To this end, we are
engaging in oil diplomacy with countries such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia,
Russia, and Venezuela. Our oil and gas companies are exploring and
bidding in regions around the world, investing large amounts in places
like Sakhalin, Sudan, and Vietnam. India is conscious of the fact that
energy consumption during the course of its march to development could
place pressures on carbon emissions. We have voluntarily placed limits
on our per capita emissions, but we have a long way to go before we
reach those limits. Immediate and real effect must be given to
commitments on international cooperation in fighting climate change,
especially in the areas of adaptation, technology transfer, capacity
building and the development of the carbon market. Trade advantages
should not be sought through the instrumentality of environmental
treaties.
However, the world today
is unfortunately not only about expanding economic and technological
horizons. There are dangers and pitfalls like growth of terrorism,
extremism and intolerance; energy, food and water security;
environmental degradation and climate change; proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction and the risk of their falling into the hands of
irresponsible actors. These are interlinked, cross-boundary issues, with
complexities going well beyond traditional dimensions. These are not
issues of the future but are already confronting us. They require global
solutions, to ensure that the process, inevitable as it is, proceeds
with minimum bumps and upheavals. This calls for further streamlining
and revamping of global governance systems. Equally, the architecture of
international financial structures, including that of the institutions
such as World Bank and the IMF, needs urgent revamping to better serve
the international community.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The primary challenge for
the world, and for India, still remains the elimination of poverty, and
a radical improvement in the living standards of people in the
developing world, as the minimal first step. Our approach for this
remains rooted in widest consultation and cooperation, including
South-South cooperation. Recent steep rise in food prices, in India and
all around the world has brought the issue of food security starkly to
the fore. Food security for us is not only about food production, given
that 2/3rds of our population is dependent on agriculture. Last year
India was a net importer of food after many years. The growing size of
our population, and economic growth and prosperity, have led to
consumption and life-style changes. By 2020, we are estimated to require
340 million tonnes of food grains. This is a challenge for our
scientists, planners and administrators. We need to tap into the
resources of developed countries, to usher in our second Green
Revolution, harnessing contemporary tools like bio-technology, water
conservation and rain harvesting techniques and other steps which are
environmental-friendly and economically sustainable. The SAARC Regional
Food Bank and the India-US Agriculture Knowledge Initiative are steps in
this direction, and we need to follow up with further similar
arrangements.
Management of
increasingly inadequate water resources for drinking, agriculture,
industry, and power, is another critical challenge for the future. While
our sub-continent is fortunate to have abundant water, we have not seen
enough collaboration in its use. We have to address this, and, as agreed
at the SAARC Summit, we will work with our neighbours in this regard.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
In concluding, I should like to re-emphasise that the focus of our
economic diplomacy in coming years will be on promoting trade and
investment flows, especially in critical areas such as infrastructure,
in assuring predictable energy supplies and in securing the widest
possible access to technologies. We would work towards significantly
upgrading our economic relationship with South-east Asia, East Asia,
Latin America and Africa, and build new investment-driven partnerships
with USA and EU. We intend to nurture a web of cooperative energy
security networks in Asia and with new suppliers in West Africa, Central
Asia and Latin America.
In today’s environment, business has taken centerstage in economic
development, with governments building the right operating and
investment climate for it. Under current conditions, it is crucial that
industry and government come together to form holistic strategies for
leveraging the forces of globalization for economic prosperity.
Corporates through their overseas mergers and acquisitions, their
international manufacturing and service operations, and their expansion
of overseas markets have taken the lead role as effective partners in
India’s global engagement.
Indian
diplomacy would get more business oriented and the integration of
science & technology and other knowledge-based initiatives into our
foreign policy goals would be the norm. The challenges that India's
foreign office faces today are different from those that we faced in the
past, and the challenges of tomorrow will be different still. India's
envoys abroad today represent a different India. It is an India that may
not have yet solved all its problems, but is still resurgent and
confident. It is an India that is no longer satisfied with being a
spectator in any arena. It is an India willing to be heard with a voice
that can make a difference to any outcome. And, as home to one sixth of
the world's population, it is an India that has not only a vital stake
in the future of the world - whether we view this future in political,
economic or even environmental or energy terms - but also the
wherewithal to play a decisive role in shaping this future.
The rapid expansion and qualitative change in India’s foreign policy
perspectives that I have mentioned are in India’s interest and also a
positive development for international peace and stability. In keeping
abreast with the new global challenges - from trade to environment to
international security - or in the new regional opportunities for peace
and prosperity, India is ready to fulfil its obligations. India, with
its unique blend of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ power, would be an indispensable
player in strengthening peace, stability and prosperity in its region
and indeed in the world.
I look forward to your views and ideas on how to develop greater synergy
between industry and government for commerce. I wish you all a very
successful annual session and conference, marked by fruitful
deliberations and conclusions. |
