Pakistan must “walk away from terror” if it wishes to walk towards dialogue with India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, adding that he remained committed to his vision for a “peaceful and harmonious” South Asia, and putting the “neighbourhood first”.
In his speech inaugurating the Ministry of External Affairs’ annual Raisina Dialogue on Tuesday, Mr. Modi outlined his government’s foreign policy from May 2014 when, he said, Indians “had spoken with one voice” to elect him with a mandate for change. Mr. Modi also referred to differences with China, and India’s close partnerships with the U.S., Russia and Japan.
Underscores message
“India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan’s journey to make. Pakistan must walk away from terror if it wants to walk towards dialogue with India,” the Prime Minister told an international audience, indicating that talks would not be resumed in the near future. “Those in our neighbourhood who support violence, perpetrate hatred, and export terror stand isolated and ignored,” he added, underscoring his message for Pakistan.
Amongst those in the audience who will also address the Raisina conference, organised by the think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF), were former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Nepal’s foreign minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, who acknowledged the Prime Minister’s reference to India as a “credible first responder” in times of crisis such as after the Nepal earthquake in 2015, was also present.
Mr. Modi began his speech with a reference to speeches made earlier on Tuesday by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who spoke in London on the Brexit vote and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who spoke in Davos on the challenges to globalisation. The Prime Minister said the growing “sentiment against trade and migration and rising parochial and protectionist attitudes” were putting globalisation's gains at a risk.
On China
On China, Mr. Modi spoke of “unprecedented business and commercial opportunities” that he had discussed with President Xi, but also made several sharp references to the differences between both countries.
“Rising ambition and festering rivalries (in Asia) are generating visible stress points,” Mr. Modi said, referring to the issue of “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.
Later in the speech, in a possible reference to the $45 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that runs through parts of Kashmir, Mr. Modi said connectivity could not “override sovereignty”.
The theme of the Raisina Dialogue this year is “The New Normal: Multilateralism in a multipolar world”. The conference will be attended by delegates and speakers from 65 countries, the MEA said.
Drawing on India’s closest strategic partnerships, Mr. Modi said he had spoken to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about building on the India-U.S. relationship, and had “long conversations” with Russian President Putin on challenges confronting the world.
