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| Manmohan's dream: Breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore | | |
NEW DELHI , jan 8: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday unveiled his vision of regional integration where one can have "breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul" as he reiterated his call for a treaty of peace, friendship and security between India and Pakistan.
"I earnestly hope that the relations between our two countries (India and Pakistan) become so friendly, and that we generate such an atmosphere of trust between each other, that the two nations would be able to agree on a treaty of peace, security and friendship," Manmohan Singh told business leaders here.
He was addressing the 79th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Underlining the "interlinked destinies" of the people of South Asia, Manmohan Singh spoke of an increasingly globalised and integrated world in which "political borders are no longer economic and social barriers".
"I dream of a day when, while retaining our respective national identities, one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore and dinner in Kabul."
He harked back to a harmonious past when easy regional access was part of every day reality. "That is how my forefathers lived. That is how I want our grandchildren to live," he said.
In his speech in Amritsar last month, he had underlined the need for a treaty of peace, friendship and security between India and Pakistan and asked both countries to put the past behind them by resolving all pending issues through a dialogue process based on trust and understanding.
The prime minister also envisaged "a more fast-track economic integration in South Asia" and stressed on increased interaction between business leaders of India and Pakistan to promote a stable and prosperous region.
"I hope Indian and Pakistani business leaders, as indeed business leaders from the region as a whole, will strengthen the hands of the political leadership in promoting peace, security and friendship in our region," he said.
Stressing on "enormous opportunities for promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in South Asia", he asked countries of the region to "to work sincerely to control the scourge of terrorism and extremism". |
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