The Hindu : National : `Prospects for regional economic integration exciting'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 20, 2004

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National

`Prospects for regional economic integration exciting'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JUNE 19. A process of regional economic integration aimed at promoting trade, investment and tourism will be the most exciting prospect in the conduct of the country's foreign policy. The two major challenges to "our diplomacy in coming years will lie in managing our relations with China and Pakistan," according to G. Parthasarathy, former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan.

Delivering the Palkhivala Foundation memorial lecture on the country's foreign policy challenges in the 21st century here today, he said that with the predominant focus of attention now on recent domestic developments in the wake of the Lok Sabha poll, there had been a tendency to pay less than enough attention to the external challenges.

He was of the view that unless the country realised that there were no permanent friends or permanent adversaries in dealing with global economic issues, like in all other aspects of international relations, and improved its economic efficiency, competitiveness and productivity, steering clear of populist policies, it could not wield influence globally or emerge as a significant player in the councils of the world.

China's decision to join the World Trade Organisation in spite of the onerous conditions imposed on it by the United States and the European Union for securing membership, only confirmed that despite the inherently inequitable trade practices that now prevailed, "it is far more realistic to join such organisations and seek change, rather than remain outside them as some in India would suggest," he said.

China's policies towards India would largely depend on how it viewed "our economic and military strength and on how they perceived our approach to the world affairs," he said. He also stressed the need for promoting trade, economic and people-to-people contacts with Pakistan, besides engaging that country in dialogues and discussions on all issues of interest and concern, even while remaining alert on the military establishment's possible continuance of policy of compulsive hostility towards our country.

The American-led intervention in Afghanistan had led to a scattering of supporters of the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban drawn from Pakistan, Central Asia, Chechnya, Indonesia, the Philippines and from across the Arab world, to far corners of the globe and particularly the Indian Ocean region, Mr. Parthasarathy said.

The country would have to develop cooperative mechanisms for guaranteeing energy security by consultations with major energy consumers including the United States, the European Union, China, Japan and South Korea on the one hand and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Russia, Iran and Iraq on the other, he said. India had moved in recent years to more closely integrate its markets with those of South and South East Asia, he noted.

S. Mahalingam, managing trustee, Palkhivala Foundation, presided. A compilation of Palkhivala memorial lectures was released by Mr. Parthasarathy. The first copy was received by S.S. Badrinath, member, governing council of the foundation.

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