India invites foreign investment which it will share with the rest of the region. India does not want to be selfish. India wants the sub-continent to develop collectively, not alone, he said, speaking on global diplomacy and economic change.
Gujrals address dwelt on the changing perceptions in Indias foreign policy after the end of the Cold War, when it began to play more attention not only to its immediate neighbours but also to the economies of South-East Asia.
Similarly, he stressed, the world should also watch out for an India that was radically changing as it integrated into the global economy. One-third of the worlds population lives in this region, the major markets are here. I may be repeating a cliche, but it is true that the markets have shifted from north to south, he said.
The message, said an analyst, was that even as India sought foreign investment from richer, western nations, it was giving notice about its growing vibrant market and its willingness to wield economic clout in other aspects of foreign policy.
Gujrals address, however, seemed to be aimed primarily at Indias neighbours in south Asia and south-east Asia, the new region that India has recently been targeting as a diplomatic hot spot.
During my visit to Bangladesh last week I told the Prime Minister that both our countries together make up a population of more than 1 billion ... that Bangladesh had large resources but a small market...but when all (trade and tariff) barriers are removed between India and Bangladesh then this will mean a new vision for the region, he said.
Gujral was all praise for the way the Asean nations had undergone an economic sea-change in the last six years. These countries now had surplus resources, were remarkably well-equipped technologically and had developed huge markets. It was a lesson that India and the rest of South Asia could draw upon, he added.
Gujrals dwelt at some length on Indias new partnership with the Asean region, also offering new dynamic linkages between South Asia, East Asia and Central Asia and the rest of the world. India is now very keen to look eastwards ... We feel that India is not only an open market for them but can also act as a bridge between Asean and the Indian Ocean countries on the one hand and Central Asia on the other, Gujral said. India and the region must grasp the opportunities thrown up in the new world order, he added.
