By IANS,
New Delhi : Without naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said India has been a victim of terrorism but will strive to engage neighbours constructively to resolve differences through dialogue.
Addressing 112 Indian ambassadors who have gathered here for a five-day conclave to debate foreign policy and security challenges, Manmohan Singh said that India has been “a victim of terrorism” but it was “essential to tackle global terrorism with full vigour”.
“India has a stake in the prosperity and stability of all our South Asian neighbours,” Manmohan Singh said.
“We should strive to engage our neighbours constructively and resolve differences through peaceful means and negotiations,” the prime minister said a day after External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said meaningful talks with Pakistan would only be possible after Islamabad ended cross-border terrorism.
Days after India gave a fresh dossier to Pakistan, Krishna said Monday that despite evidence given to Islamabad about the alleged complicity of Pakistani militants, including Hafiz Saeed, in the Mumbai attacks it was yet to take effective steps to stop infiltration and terror directed against India.
Stressing the “integral link of India’s foreign policy with domestic policies, particularly economic policy”, Manmohan Singh said the the country’s foreign policy should address the challenges of mass poverty, ignorance and disease.
The prime minister also expressed optimism that despite the global economic slowdown, the Indian economy was still the second fastest growing economy in the world.
He stressed that all-out efforts were needed to put the economy back on a sustained high rate of growth if the challenges of poverty and disease were to be effectively addressed, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.