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India-Pakistan ties show new signs of promise: Sinha

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 9. "India-Pakistan relations show new signs of promise with a categorical assurance from Pakistan that it will not permit any territory under its control to be used by terrorists. We have also agreed to start the dialogue process," the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, said here today.

Addressing the second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations, Mr. Sinha said that the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had returned from a "historic" SAARC [South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation] summit in Islamabad.

In a review of the foreign policy from the Government perspective, he said that India had strengthened its relations with the United States, the European Union, Russia and China.

"As part of our emphasis on the immediate neighbourhood, we took relations with SAARC countries, Afghanistan, Myanmar, ASEAN, Central Asia and the Gulf to an all-time high. We have entered into and are negotiating a slew of free trade and comprehensive partnership agreements designed to expand India's footprint in the world," Mr. Sinha told the gathering of overseas Indians.

"Reflecting India's continued commitment to the developing world, we have reinvigorated South-South cooperation through a new initiative bringing India, Brazil and South Africa together as a joint force in international politics," he said.

Mr. Sinha, a former Finance Minister, said the country had achieved a growth rate of 8.4 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal year.

"Our coffers are bursting with over $100 billion of foreign exchange reserves. There are abundant food stocks in our granaries. Inflation is under check. Trade is booming... It is true that we still have a long way to go. Benefits of economic growth have to percolate down to the lowest rungs of society. The `feel good' factor has to reach each and every corner of our country."

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