SPEECHES / STATEMENTS 

Shri Pranab Mukherjee's Address at Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Republic of Korea on "India's Look East Policy"

September 17, 2007

The following is the full text of the Address by the External Affairs Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Republic of Korea on “India’s Look East Policy.

“Chancellor Lee Ju-heum of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS),
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests

I am delighted to be here today to address this distinguished gathering on India's growing engagement with East Asia. Many decades back our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, prophesized that the “emergence of Asia in world affairs will be a powerful influence for the world peace”. It has taken some time for Asia to make that journey from a colonized continent to being the world’s economic power-house. The character of the economy today, its demographics and active diplomacy reveal that the balance is shifting to Asia.

As the international order witnesses this significant structural transformation, we are engaged in our own process of enabling change and in reformulating our external priorities. It began when India launched its “Look East Policy” in the early 1990s. That fundamental new step was not merely the outcome of economics; it was a strategic shift in India’s vision of the world in the 21st century. We were aware of the achievements of our neighbours to the East who, by emerging as economic powerhouses, also provided us with a message that enriching the flower bed of enterprise fires rapid economic growth. The Republic of Korea stood tall among the achievers and it is not a coincidence that the first visit by a Prime Minister from India was in 1993.

It is not as if we suddenly discovered Korea in 1990. The legend of the Princess of Ayodhya who travelled to Korea in the Ist century AD to marry King Suro is symbolic of the common cultural and spiritual values that we shared as Indians and Koreans. In the darkest hour of our two nations’ existence at the beginning of the 20th century, our Nobel laureate Tagore prophesized your country’s re-emergence as the ‘light of the east’. He wrote:

“In the Golden days of the East

Korea was one of its lamp-bearers

And that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again

For the illumination of the East.”

In the early years of our independence, the Korean peninsula became the meeting ground for the world’s great powers. In the aftermath of the unfortunate developments on the Korean peninsula, we recognized our responsibility as fellow-Asians and made our modest contribution to the process of building peace. The work by the 60th Indian Field Ambulance Unit of the Army Medical Corps symbolized our friendship and re-united us after centuries of separation.

Similarly, with other countries in East Asia, including China and Japan and the countries of south-east Asia, India has long standing civilizational bonds. In spiritual and cultural values, by name and language, through dance and art, there is a historical tradition of contact between India and East Asia. It is, therefore, against this larger backdrop that I wish to speak to this distinguished gathering about our re-engagement with the East, and with your great country.

The essential philosophy of our “Look East” strategy, which is now well established, is that India must find its destiny by linking itself more and more with its Asian partners and the rest of the world. We believe that India’s future and our own best economic interests are served by greater integration with East Asia. This may seem unusual to the young generations in our countries who grew up when India and the countries of East Asia walked down different paths during the Cold War, but to those of my generation and for the youngest generation in our countries, this will be a rediscovery by Asian countries of their common Asian heritage. It is my belief that this shift that is taking place and the kind of interaction that is emerging amongst Asian countries has deep historical and cultural roots and, therefore, can be a very powerful force for future peace and stability on our continent.

Our interest is engaging with East Asia has domestic roots. We are a vibrant democracy, quickly transforming ourselves into a vibrant economy with growth on an ascending trajectory. The current economic growth is around 8 % and we hope to achieve a 10 % sustainable growth in the coming years. Our policies relating to foreign trade, foreign direct investment, taxation, banking, finance and capital markets have evolved to make Indian industry more competitive globally. Our foreign exchange reserves currently exceed US$ 200 billion. While we still have a long way to travel down the road to prosperity and well-being for all, there is tremendous confidence and optimism all around, about our ability to develop through democratic means, to ensure growth that is inclusive.

I would like to put forth before you the way India has sought to integrate with Asia in general. To begin with, we focused very much on the ASEAN. Beginning from a sectoral partner, our association with ASEAN evolved into a Full Dialogue Partner and finally to a Summit Partner. We have close relations with all countries in the region and our economic and cultural ties will get stronger by the day as travel, tourism and business reinforce regional interaction. This is but one aspect. The second aspect has been that our own relations with East Asian countries have been growing rapidly, whether it is with ROK or China or Japan.

Our engagement with China is broad and multifaceted. Trade and investment are the great drivers of the new relationship. We are confident that our “Strategic & Cooperative partnership” will mature and steadily develop. The leaders of both countries recognize that co-existence and cooperation is the wise course of action, and sensitivity to mutual aspirations is the underpinning for building confidence and trust. There is enough space and opportunity for both of us to grow and develop, and to bring benefit not only to us, but also for other partners in Asia.

We have a Strategic & Global Partnership with Japan. Economic opportunities form the core of our ties. We see a strong potential for further growth in all areas of our relationship. In the knowledge based world of the 21st century both countries possess complementary skills that can be turned to create new opportunities for the region as a whole.

Our “Long Term Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity” with your great country is a corner-stone of India’s Look East policy. My fellow Indians and I are amazed at the rapidity with which LG, Hyundai and Samsung have become household names in India. We are now negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and our trade is out-performing the targets that have been laid down from time to time. More recently, our relations have expanded into other areas as well, and I am of the firm belief that we need to give strategic orientation to our bilateral partnership in order to take it to the next level.

We see great value in pursuing economic cooperation with fellow East Asians in the pursuit of a truly integrated Asian economy that will draw on the economic potential of India and China, the technology and management expertise of Korea and Japan and the dynamism of ASEAN. There are those who speak of a two track approach for such integration, namely economic integration led by ASEAN+3 in the first phase, to be followed subsequently by expansion to other economies. In India, we choose to look at it from a different perspective.

In a globalized world, it is mutually gainful opportunity and not geography that defines and drives the processes of integration. India offers such opportunity here and now and, if the BRIC Report of Goldman Sachs is to be believed, it will continue to offer larger opportunities in the foreseeable future. We do believe that ASEAN should remain in the driving seat and be the nucleus of this integrative process. But I ask the distinguished gathering whether it will serve regional interests, and Korean interests, if such processed exclude others, whose development is integral to the region as a whole. That is why I firmly believe that an Asian economic community that is open, transparent and inclusive, and provides a platform to create ever widening economic opportunities, is better for Asia and for the world, than a narrower or restrictive definition of Asian economic integration. I hope that my friends in Korea will understand and recognize that the future depends on the integration of Asia as a continent without artificial geographical sub-divisions.

In fact, recent studies have revealed a compelling case for a broader Asian economic community built in a phased manner. This community comprising half of the world’s population would be larger than the EU in terms of output, having trade higher than NAFTA and foreign exchange reserves greater than those of EU and NAFTA put together. It has been demonstrated that economic integration could generate billions of dollars of additional output. The vision of Asian economic integration by coalescing the FTAs among member Asian countries into an Asian RTA is the pivotal step towards the integration of Asia into a common unit. It is precisely for this reason that our Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, envisaged the creation of a broader Asian Economic Community.

While it is very clear that economic integration trends are becoming visible in Asia, there are other important areas where wider collaboration is also necessary. If we are creating an integrated Asian economic community, then we also need to look at a realistic and positive security architecture for this part of the world. There is, of course, the ASEAN Regional Forum - which is more of a consultative process. While we do not have any preference for a particular type of institutional framework, the first step is to develop a common recognition of the challenges that we will face as an Asian economic community.

Both India and Korea, and many other Asian economies, are dependent on foreign sources of energy. The sea lanes of communication are therefore vital for us all, and their security must be a paramount consideration.

When we consider that our trade and investment also flows along the same sea lanes, this becomes a primary issue for us all. Piracy and terrorism are common threats and information sharing a common requirement. It is, therefore, natural that countries in the region will engage in cooperation and collaboration on maritime safety and security. Such cooperation and collaboration is to heighten awareness of common challenges and ensure a degree of preparedness.

Natural disasters and consequent economic and environmental consequences present another common challenge. The tsunami in 2004 was a wake-up call for closer cooperation among Asian countries in the Indian Ocean. Can we look to establishing an Asian Emergency Response System? I do not know the answer to this question, but it is one that we will all have to ponder over since the impact of another natural calamity on the scale of the 2004 tsunami could have serious consequences not only for those directly affected but for all other Asian economies that are linked by trade and investment to the affected economies.

Asia’s integration is also being driven by other factors. There are issues relating to the financial infrastructure and the need to protect ourselves from any major upheaval in the financial markets or in the stock markets in the future. We believe that the Asian financial structure, though growing very rapidly and remaining dynamic, needs to become stronger. I could put forth many other issues that we feel are important. My point is that we certainly believe that this process of economic integration in Asia needs to be looked into with a positive frame of mind as there will be greater opportunities for us to work together in future. Asia, today, is the most dynamic and vibrant region in the world. This is the home of the major economies of the world and also to the fastest growing economies. This process of growth is irreversible and I believe that the time has come for us to come together and look at the future patterns of growth that brings prosperity to all.

I thank you all for providing me this opportunity for sharing India's latest perspectives on its Look East policy. I am happy that I have been able to do this here in the Republic of Korea, a country with which our relations go well back in time and where an active future beckons us all to build further on time-tested foundations.

Thank you.”