India is engaging its neighbours without looking at reciprocity, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday.
Speaking at the third Heads of Missions conference here, Dr. Singh emphasised the need for a peaceful and tranquil international environment in the neighbourhood and felt India's foreign policy should be oriented towards East and Southeast Asia which were poised for a sustained growth in this century.
Touching upon the same theme, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna felt that India's interests were best served by a peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood. “We believe that dialogue can address all outstanding issues and have seen from 2004-07 the potential of such a process with Pakistan. Given the complexities of our relationship with Pakistan, we have advocated a step-by-step … approach. We have conveyed to Pakistan that credible and effective action by Pakistan on our terrorism-related concerns, including the investigations and trial in the Mumbai terror attack [case], would be the most important confidence-building measure.”
