President Pranab Mukherjee has said India needs to make efforts to improve its presence in the Asia Pacific region to counterbalance the growing influence of China.
"You know nothing happens automatically. We shall have to make efforts," he said when asked about Chinese influence in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New Zealand.
The President was talking to reporters on board the special Air India flight while returning after a six day trip to PNG and New Zealand, his first state visit to the two countries.
He also said India was ready to work for early conclusion of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand.
"I conveyed India's willingness to work towards an early conclusion of an FTA keeping in mind the need to find a satisfactory resolution of our mutual concerns," the President said.
"We are not maintaining silence. Ten rounds of discussions have taken place on FTA. Unfortunately the negotiations began in 2010 and we have not been able to finalise it.
"There are some problems about some of the agricultural products but I think we have come a long way from the days when our agriculture required total protection because we are the largest producers of the liquid milk. So apart from green revolution, white revolution has also been achieved," he said.
The President said the policy followed by the government in the 1960s and 70s or even 80s may not be relevant in 2015-16.
"I understand government is considering this aspect carefully. Of course when you enter into an FTA, it boosts your bilateral trade substantially," he said and cited an example of Sri Lanka with which India's bilateral trade grew 20 times after signing of FTA.
He lauded the Narendra Modi government for having organised two summits of Asia Pacific Island countries. "The third summit is being held at PNG and I do hope Indian delegation will consist of high-level representatives.
"Therefore, a begining has been made and it will naturally be taken to its logical conclusion in course of time," he said.
Mukherjee said he was satisfied with his visit to the two countries.
"So far PNG is conerned, not even a politician ever visited PNG. On the other hand, you look at their approach, they have voluntarily extended their support to India's legitimate claim to permanent membership of UNSC," he said.
"Therefore, I do feel that this visit was important and I am satisfied with the outcome of this visit....I do feel it is time for us to expand our relationship, both horizontally and vertically in trade, commerce, investment and sharing technical expertise in respective fields," he said.
Speaking about cooperation between India and New Zealand
in the education sector, the President said his focus during the visit was on three aspects -- faculty exchange, student exchange programme and collaborative research.
"In these three areas, if we succeed, I am confident that we will make much progress and we will gain from each other's experience and knowledge. We should not have this approach that we know all and we are expert of everything. Many things we have to learn from small and big countries.
"Moreoever, in these relationships, another angularity is there -- centre of gravity of economic activities are truly changing from G8 countries or Europe and North America to emerging economies. This fact should not be ignored and we can be an important contributor in that economic scenario," he said.
"If we can, take advantage of it. Otherwise we will be left behind. Others will take the space, nothing will remain vacant, He said.
The President underscored the need for deepening India's cooperation with New Zealand in agriculture.
"If we deepen our cooperation in agriculture, in maintaining cold chain management, they are excellent in that. So we can learn from them and we can greatly benefit from their experiences and expertise. I am quite optimistic that relationship with both New Zealand and PNG will enhance substantially."
The President was accompanied by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and three MPs -- Pratap Singh Bajwa, K Hari Babu and Ram Swaroop Sharma.
The President said these visits were intended to take forward the government's 'Act East' policy. "My visits to these two countries reflect the importance that India places on significantly enhancing our relationships with the Asia-Pacific region which is an extension of our immediate neighbourhood," he said.
On his stay in PNG, he said, "I conveyed in my meetings India's willingness to contribute to capacity building in Papua New Guinea in the fields of agriculture, health, information technology and infrastructure development.
"During my discussions, Indian investment in upstream and downstream projects in the field of petroleum and natural gas were welcomed by the leadership of Papua New Guinea. I reiterated our offer for coastal surveillance radars, patrol craft and training for maritime coast guard authorities that had been made during FIPIC-2 Summit.
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Mukherjee said India and New Zealand had many things in common including similarity of political systems, strong commitment to democracy and humane values, open and rapidly growing economies, English language and passion for cricket, among others.
"New Zealand is home to a large community of Indian origin people who are well integrated into New Zealand society and who are contributing immensely to their adopted home. New Zealand has prioritised its relations with India and seeks to make India a core trade, economic and political partner," he said.
Mukherjee said the leadership of New Zealand emphasised that they consider India a vital part of the Asia Pacific and would like to partner us in diverse fields.
"They were highly appreciative of India's Act East policy. I, on my part, lauded New Zealand's positive contribution as a current member of the UN Security Council," he said.
