Manmohan Singh says Indian foreign policy linked to domestic policies

New Delhi, Aug. 25 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that India's Foreign policy should be aimed at addressing the challenges of mass poverty, ignorance and disease in the country.

Dr. Singh emphasised the integral link of India's foreign policy with domestic policies particularly economic policy in his address at the Conference of Indian Heads of Missions organized by the Ministry of External Affairs.

He stated that despite the global economic slowdown, the Indian economy was still the second fastest growing economy in the world, but 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.

In order to attain this, Dr Singh said identified three pillars of global engagement: sustaining capital inflows to supplement our investment efforts, the need to take advantage of rapid scientific and technological developments in the world which provide an opportunity for India to leap frog its technological development, and the need to ensure that the country's growth is not constrained by scarcity of natural resources.

All these required active engagement by India in all multilateral fora, and in the shaping of the world order, whether in the field of trade, international finance or the international economy, he said.

Highlighting the need of fighting global-terrorism, Dr. Singh said India has been a victim of terrorism and it was essential that global terrorism is tackled with full vigour and resolve to ensure the continuing advancement of the country.

"India has a stake in the prosperity and stability of all our South Asian neighbours. We should strive to engage our neighbours constructively and resolve differences through peaceful means and negotiations," he said. (ANI)