India engaging neighbours without looking at reciprocity: PM

Seeking better ties with countries in the region, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday that India was engaging its neighbours without looking for reciprocal actions.

"India, by and large, has good relations with her neighbours. We were engaging them without looking at reciprocity, in our own enlightened interest," he said inaugurating the third conference of Heads of Missions in New Delhi.

Singh said Indian diplomats were facilitating the creation of an international environment that was conducive to India's progress, development and attainment of its external goals.

Outlining his vision of India, the prime minister said that the foremost national goal was to remove poverty and accelerate the pace of economic development.

"We are building modern infrastructure which would stand up to the challenge of a fast moving economy. The nation is also focusing on human resource development, as the quality of human resources determines the standing of a country in the comity of nations," Singh said.

He underlined that science and technology was a major factor of power and wealth of a nation and India ought to have the ability to master technology.

The prime minister noted that India was among the fastest growing economies in the world, which despite the global meltdown in 2008-09, had returned to a growth path of 8.5 percent.

He said energy availability was critical to attaining a 9-10 percent growth rate, as one per cent growth needed 0.8 percent increase in energy availability.

Singh said foreign policy had a very important role in securing India's energy needs.

Highlighting the increasingly inter-dependent global environment, he said India needed an open trading system and wanted to emerge as a major trading nation in the world.

"G-20 had become a key forum for discussing and shaping international economic and financial policies. Foreign policy had also to pay more attention to functioning of G20," the prime minister said.

Singh said that India sought a peaceful and tranquil international environment as well as very good relations with all countries, especially with neighbours and major powers.      Foreign policy should also be oriented towards East and Southeast Asia, which were poised for a sustained growth rate in the 21st century, he said.