Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought unity among Asian countries and said they must work as Asians to shape the world and reform the global institutions of governance, including the United Nations.
“If Asia must rise as one, Asia should no longer think of itself in regional fragments,” Mr. Modi told the VI Asia Leadership Conference in South Korean capital Seoul.
Noting that an Asia of rivalries will hold the continent back, he asked the Asian countries to draw upon their shared heritage and youthful energy to pursue a common purpose.
“Asia of unity will shape the world,” Mr. Modi said, adding that India seeks an Asia of shared prosperity, where the success of one nation becomes the strength of the other.
“We must work as Asians to reform the global institutions of governance, including the United Nations and its Security Council,” he said, underlining that Asia’s re-emergence is the greatest phenomenon of this era.
Mr. Modi said India’s progress will be Asia’s success story and it will help to make the Asian dream a bigger reality.
“My Asian dream is one in which all of Asia rises together... The future I dream for India is the future I seek for our neighbours. Our growth must be more inclusive within and across nations,” said Mr. Modi, who is in Seoul on the last leg of his three-nation tour that also took him to China and Mongolia.
Noting that India is located at Asia’s crossroads, the Prime Minister said, “We will assume our responsibility to build inter-connected Asia.”
Mr. Modi said as some of the countries in Asia become more prosperous they must be prepared to share their resources and markets with those who need them.
“This is the obligation of national governments but also a regional responsibility,” he added.
