October 30
Aiming to establish itself as a regional power, India would be engaging its “uneasy” neighbours in a meaningful dialogue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he was looking at engaging both China and Pakistan through the parameters of trade and people-to-people exchanges.

Acknowledging the difficult relation with its neighbours, he said, “We can choose our friends, but cannot choose our neighbours. Our policy is to engage with our neighbours. My meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was very productive. In a general way, we discussed the totality of issues and affirmed our commitment to bring about a practical solution on boundary issue. Both of us agreed that peace and tranquility should be maintained at the border. I agree with Wen that all misunderstandings should be cleared between the two sides. Wen will be visiting India in near future.”

On Pakistan, the Prime Minister said that “… our policy is to engage with Pakistan. That does not mean that we have to give up or surrender”. He said he was keen on integrating the Indian economy with the global economy. “We are doing that at a measured pace. We recognise that an opportunity exists in the global economies and we have to have a balance of interest to integrate our economy in the global economy,” he said. He said he made a point during the East Asia Summit in Hanoi this afternoon that developing countries need to resist threats of new protectionist measures in industrialised countries and the reduction of barriers to trade. “I have emphasised that protectionism is not a solution to trade problems, or the balance of payment problems,” he said.

Refusing to comment on the political tensions at home, be it the Supreme Court reprimand to the government on continuation of A. Raja as the telecom minister, or the Adarsh land scam controversy in Maharashtra and its political ramifications, the Prime Minister said he would look into the matter only when he reaches New Delhi. “I have not seen what the Supreme Court has said (on the Raja issue). When I go back, I will look into it, but cannot comment on it now as the matter is subjudice. On the Adarsh land scam, too, I will go back and comment only after I look into the facts of the case,” he said.

Asked about the progress of probe in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and if the Prime Minister should have intervened at an earlier stage to stem the rot in the Games, Manmohan Singh said that post facto, one can find faults with anything. “But I don’t think it is good for the system if everything has to be handled by the Prime Minister or the PMO… Ministries should be entrusted with looking into complaints addressed to them,” he said.