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At the end of a nine-day visit to the United States and the United Kingdom, his first as Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh modestly summed it up as "productive". His meetings with world leaders, address to the United Nations General Assembly, and interactions with corporate leaders indeed, are going to have a multi-dimensional impact on India’s development as a growing economic power, its foreign policy and on building a global consensus for a new and equitable world order.
Apart from injecting a strong sense of direction to the evolving strategic relationships with the USA , the UK and a cordial meeting with President Musharraf with a new determination to take the composite dialogue to a constructive conclusion, the Prime Minister also gave a clarion call for democratization of the United Nations(UN) and bringing development to the centre of global discourse.
The Prime Minister effectively projected India as a nation eminently deserving representation at the UN Security Council as a permanent member. It has been done keeping in view its size, population, economic and technological progress, professional skills and its record in UN, both in peace keeping missions and in the arena of international development. His British counterpart, Shri Tony Blair, endorsed India’s case in a joint declaration and also expected India and China to take part in G-8 Summits next year onwards.
Dr.Manmohan Singh, enjoying a high reputation as the architect of liberalization, held out the attractions of the country as a major investment destination, given its infrastructure development needs of some 150 billion dollars over the next decade. The Chief Executive Offiers (CEOs) of leading multinationals heard him in New York reaffirm his Government’s commitment to carry forward reforms with pragmatic approaches.
Indo-US Strategic Partnerships
India and the US committed themselves to expand the strategic partnership especially in the areas of high technology, defence and economy. At their New York meeting, President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh noted that Indo-American relations had never been as close as they are at present, and agreed that "the best is yet to come".
Not that the approaches of these two great democracies converge on all issues. Yet, there are areas where there is vast scope for greater cooperation. A joint statement issued after the India-USA Summit referred to expanded defence cooperation as an integral part of the strengthening of ties.The easing of certain export controls, on the eve of his visit, has opened the possibility of freer flow of technology in space and nuclear fields for peaceful purpose .
The country has made common cause with USA in the war against terrorism and the joint statement said that they would work together in this regard besides, combating proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Dr.Manmohan Singh, in his address to the UN, did speak about issues on which there is clear need for rethinking by the major powers. The Prime Minister left New Delhi with a determination to endow greater content in what he called the vital relationship with the US, particularly in economic and high technology fields, and he has accomplished it to a significant degree. The Bush Administration acknowledged the notable contribution of Indian professionals to the American economy.
India-Pakistan
While in New York, the Prime Minister had meetings with several heads of governments reflecting India’s growing interest in bilateral cooperation. But the most important for the subcontinent was undoubtedly his meeting with President Pervez Musharraf. His first interaction with Pakistan leader, was described by him as "an essay in mutual comprehension".
From all accounts, the two leaders established instant rapport, meeting in a relaxed atmosphere, and gave out signals of an amicable search for solutions for problems that had bedeviled the two nations. The joint statement issued after their meeting, recorded their agreement that confidence-building measures(CMBs) of all categories under discussion between the two governments should be implemented keeping in mind the practical possibilities.
On Jammu and Kashmir, the statement noted "possible options for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the issue and should be explored in a sincere spirit and purposeful manner". The two leaders showed faith in the spirit of the Islamabad statement, that CBMs would contribute to generating an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding for the well-being of the peoples of both countries.
Prime Minister Singh has said that his frank discussions with President Musharraf represented a new beginning and the composite dialogue would be taken to its constructive conclusion. He has also made it clear, that he had unambiguously told the Pakistan President of the commitment given that Pakistan territory would not be used for cross-border terrorism.
UN and the New Order
In his landmark address to the UN General Assembly, Dr.Manmohan Singh pointed out how the post-world war institutions were becoming irrelevant to meet the challenges of the 21st century and how they needed to be refashioned to tackle global problems of poverty, development and security. He called for bringing democracy to the centre of global discourse and for equitable, rule-based regimes to manage global trade, investment flows and movement of services.
Reform and restructuring of UN system, could alone provide a crucial link in a chain of efforts to refashion international structures that are representative of contemporary realities. The Prime Minister told the comity of nations that India had the capabilities and capacity to take on emerging and critical tasks and would participate in structuring a just and dynamic world order.
Dr.Manmohan Singh also had meetings with UN Secretary-General and Presidents of Afghanistan and South Africa. He indicated the country’s continued assistance to Afghanistan and expressed willingness to help in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq.
India-UK
Earlier, in the United Kingdom, on the first leg of his tour, the Prime Minister and his British counterpart issued a joint declaration as a new initiative for a "dynamic partnership", building on the historical ties between the two countries.
The joint declaration provides for a Joint Economic and Trade Committee at ministerial level and an Indo-British Economic and Financial Dialogue in both bilateral and multilateral spheres. Indo-UK trade has been growing rapidly with Britain being the second largest investor in the country. The two countries have also agreed to work closely for a successful conclusion of the Doha Round Trade Negotiations.
Economic Reforms
Both in London and New York, the Prime Minister dispelled any misgivings that there could be a
slowdown in reforms because the supporting Left had some reservations but said that for a coalition government, there has to be consensus on policies so that reforms are durable. He said the Government remained committed to an open economy and easing of procedural restrictions on investments with maximum political consensus in the infrastructure sector. The Prime Minister also met leading NRI businessmen and professionals and welcomed suggestions by the panel on the investment climate in the country. He said the country could absorb at least 15 billion dollars a year of foreign investment as against the current level of five billion.
The Manmohan visit has helped to galvanise more support for the country at the UN. Even among the G-5 permanent members (with veto power), only USA and China have so far been non-committal on India’s claim for UN Security Council’s permanent membership. A high point was reached when India, Brazil, Japan and Germany – all candidates for permanent membership - came together at the level of heads of governments to call for revitalization of the UN General Assembly and reconstitution of the Security Council to address effectively the present day challenges.
*Senior Freelance Writer
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