At Shangri-La, Modi targets protectionism; hails India’s ties with big powers

At a time when the US, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, escalated protectionism more by putting tariffs on goods imported from his countries' allies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the opposite course by targeting protectionism at the high-profile Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore on Friday, June 1.

Stressing that nations could not find solutions behind walls but by embracing changes, Modi said: "What we seek is a level playing field for all. India stands for open and stable international trade regime."

Modi, who delivered the keynote speech at SLD as the first Indian prime minister, said India backed a rule-based trade environment in the Indo-Pacific region which will benefit all countries in trade and investment.

Modi, who is on the final leg of his three-day visit to Southeast Asia starting from Indonesia on May 29, also said that India had many friendships and none of them aimed at containing those with others. He said this in connection to India's relations with the US, Russia and China.

On India-US relations, Modi said New Delhi's global strategic partnership with Washington deepened across the breadth while on his country's relation with Russia, Modi said its first Strategic Partnership was with Russia and it became special over time.

He also hailed India's ties with China saying no other external relation that India shares has so many layers as it is with its northern neighbour. The two countries are often seen as enemies but one can't deny the fact that the two - which are making fast economic progress -- also harbour hopes of working together to facilitate global economy.