Push economic goals: PM to envoys

Push economic goals: PM to envoys
The Economic Times, August 26, 2009, Page 2

Diplomats Should Supplement Domestic Efforts In Investment And Energy Security: Manmohan Singh

Our Political Bureau NEW DELHI

THE government is set to give a big push to economic diplomacy for attracting investment and identifying opportunities in the energy sector. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday told Indian envoys at the head of missions conference that foreign policy was closely linked to economic policy and urged top diplomats to further the country’s economic goals in the international economy.

Mr Singh said Indian diplomats should supplement domestic efforts, particularly in the area of investment and energy security. He identified three areas as “pillars of India’s global engagement”, including sustaining capital inflows to supplement India’s investment efforts, taking advantage of rapid scientific and technological developments and ensuring the country’s growth is not constrained by scarcity of natural resources.

“All these required active engagement by India in all multilateral fora, and in the shaping of the world order, whether in the field of trade, international finance or international economy,” the prime minister told the heads of missions, according to a statement.

He further said insularity was no longer an option for India which had to play an active role not just in economic diplomacy but also in coming up with a solution for climate change and trade talks. “... India should play a role in the international arena in a manner that makes a positive contribution to finding solutions to major global challenges, whether in the field of trade or climate change,” he said.

Though the government has identified economic diplomacy as a key area, it is still to come up with a coherent policy. Economic diplomacy largely depends on the individual missions. But investment and energy security have been identified as key areas of India’s engagement with the world.

To illustrate his point, PM also emphasised the link between India’s foreign policy and domestic policies. He noted that the country’s foreign policy should be aimed at addressing the challenges of mass poverty. Noting that India’s economy was still the secondfastest growing economy in the world in spite of the global economic slowdown, he said that effort was required from all quarters to put the economy back on a sustained high rate of growth.

The prime minister also touched on the issue of terrorism in his address to the envoys. Without naming Pakistan, the prime minister said India would continue to resolve differences through peaceful means. “India has a stake in the prosperity and stability of all our South Asian neighbours. We should strive to engage our neighbours constructively and resolve differences through peaceful means and negotiations,” he said. External affairs minister S M Krishna had said on Monday that meaningful dialogue could only take place if Pakistan took steps to stop infiltration and dismantled the terror infrastructure.