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| SAARC nations need to work with 'trust': India | | |
NEW DELHI | FEB 10
Emphasising that it was not seeking any “exclusive sphere of influence” in South Asia as “often misconstrued”, India said the countries of the region need to work with “mutual trust and confidence” for the common future and that New Delhi was ready to take the initiative in this regard.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India wants to deal with all its neighbours on the basis of "sovereign equality and mutual respect" and this is reflected by revision of Friendship Treaty with Bhutan that gave Thimpu more powers.
Favouring creation of stake for all countries of the region in the economic success of the other, he told a conference of SAARC Editors here that India will play a positive role in the establishment of new trans-border transport networks and energy corridors.
Underlining that South Asia has a common future, he said "we have to work for it with mutual trust and confidence. For its part, India is committed to developing political relations with its South Asian neighbours on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect."
Mukherjee, who was addressing the concluding session of the two-day meet, said "what we seek is not an exclusive sphere of influence, as is often misconstrued, but a shared sphere of mutual development and cooperation."
India's vision for the SAARC region is "one of open regionalism", the minister said, noting that this was underlined by New Delhi's strong support to the entry of China and Japan into SAARC as observers. |
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