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Kalam for self-reliance in critical technologies

Amit Baruah

"No nation should control what India is doing"

MANILA: No nation should control what India is doing, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said as he began a three-day Philippines visit on Friday.

Referring to the sanctions imposed after the May 1998 nuclear tests, he said the country must be self-reliant in critical technologies.

Addressing Indians here, the President, who referred to technological self-reliance on several occasions during his overseas visit, thanked the non-resident Indians for purchasing "bonds" at a time of crisis facing the country.

Fields questions

Taking questions from the audience, Mr. Kalam dealt with a number of issues. When a Manipuri academic asked him about population explosion in India, the President responded: "I am a bramhachari."

To a man who sought to ask a question on behalf of his son, Mr. Kalam said, "You ask that guy to send me mail."

Immediately after landing here from Singapore, the President visited the College of Nursing at the University of the Philippines and stressed the need for the two countries to cooperate in nursing.

Mr. Kalam said he insisted on visiting the college because Filipino nurses had established their credentials all over the world. To cheers from the students, he described them as Florence Nightingales of the world. "The encounter between nurse and patient carries with it the rituals having to deal with vulnerability, dependency, fear, suffering, insecurity, and possible death. The patient needs to be able to trust, perhaps more than any other health care professional, the intentions of the nurse, her attitude to her patient's vulnerable position."

The President said: "I can see great possibilities of Indian and Filipino nurses and paramedics working together and emerging as the most powerful human resource in the world. Together, Indian and Filipino nurses can be the caring corps of this planet."

To meet Arroyo today

On Saturday Mr. Kalam will receive a ceremonial welcome and will hold talks with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Saturday. He is also scheduled to visit the International Rice Research Institute and address a dinner meeting hosted by the Asia Society.

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