PM reiterates India's peace resolve

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pledged to resolve all "outstanding issues" with Pakistan bilaterally, including Jammu and Kashmir, if Pakistan kept its word on cross-border terrorism.

Talking at the "Hindustan Times Leadership Initiative Conference" he asked Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to fulfil " in letter and spirit" his promise to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of not allowing Pakistani territory to be used for cross-border terrorism.

"At least we certainly have the will to engage Pakistan in a constructive dialogue towards resolving all outstanding issues bilaterally, including Jammu and Kashmir," Singh said.

In a speech that covered India's foreign policy initiatives, economic ideals and social development goals, the Prime Minister emphasised the need for "co-operation" on all fronts with other Asian countries and the rest of the world.

He said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would accord the highest priority to accelerate economic growth accompanied by "equitable and just" social development.

"What is now clear is that an inclusive democracy, based on the principles of pluralism and multi-culturalism, is the most enduring means of dealing with the challenges posed by open markets and open societies," he said.

The Prime Minister said India would pursue energy security within a co-operative framework to ensure security of oil supplies, of pipelines and sea-lanes of communication.

Maintaining that India was a responsible nuclear power, Singh said it was committed to nuclear non-proliferation and would cooperate with the world community to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and deal with the threat of terrorism.

India was committed to working closely with all countries in the neighbourhood to make the "21st century an Asian century," the Prime Minister said. India would like to see a "widening and deepening" of ties with China, Japan, member countries of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), the Central Asian Republics and West Asia and Africa, he said.

He also expressed the need to inject new interest in the programmes under the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) and the Initiative For Multi-Sectoral Technical And Economic Co-operation (BOMSTEC).

Singh said India was committed to making the world a safer place by co-operating on the non-proliferation of wea-pons of mass destruction and in dealing with the threat of terrorism. "We will continue to strengthen our wide-ranging and many-sided relationship with the US, the European Union and Russia," the Prime MInister said delivering the keynote speech.

The two-day conference will be addressed by Indian and foreign dignitaries including Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and former Pakistani cricketer chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf Party Imran Khan and Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Meanwhile, offering an "extremely flexible" approach towards the peace process in Sri Lanka, President Chandrika Kumaratunga today said recent developments give a "little bit more hope" that the ltte may be persuaded for talks.

Noting that barring some violations by the LTTE, the ceasefire agreement with it has held for the last three years, the longest in 20 years of the ethnic conflict, Kumaratunga said the peace process "is moving forward".

Responding to questions at the "The Hindustan Times leadership initiative conference" here, she said the LTTE had stated that it was committed to a negotiated settlement and it would not go to war.

"For the first time, the LTTE has stated that it is willing to explore a federal solution in place of a separate state (of Tamil eelam) that they have been demanding. So, there is movement forward," she said.

Kumaratunga, who briefed Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders on the peace process, said "my government has been extremely flexible on our part" in this regard. "So, we keep trying. We have not lost hope completely," she said adding "recent developments give us a little bit more hope. That they may be persuaded for talks. But I can't say more than this."

But, there was an "overall sense of relaxation of tensions", she said observing there was movement of population from the north to the south and vice versa.