Beware of the mistakes made in Iraq was the essence of the message delivered by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States.
Speaking at the forum of the Council of Foreign Relations at New York on September 29 before US’ President Barack Obama hosting him in Washington, Modi advised the US leadership that withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan should be done in a ‘slow and calibrated’ manner or they will risk by repeating the post-withdrawal turmoil in Iraq.
“Only a strong Afghan government and with an adept security forces will allow the country to stand up against the Taliban. A stable Afghanistan will ‘march’ towards democracy and development,” said Modi in his candid address at the event.
Recalling how New Delhi and Washington have important stakes to ensure that Afghanistan does not slip back into a period of war and instability, he reiterated that terrorism stemming from the region is a problem for both the US and India.
Further he said that terrorism is a problem that needs to be tackled globally. He downplayed the notions on ‘good terrorism’ and ‘bad terrorism’ by saying there should be no distinctions between these two.
Modi also spoke about the nature of partnership between India and the US. He also said that similar to all relationships between partners, this relationship too was not ‘perfect’. This aspect he noted by saying, “There is no need to be comfortable on all aspects (of a relationship…).’’
As two of the world’s largest democracies, the Prime Minister observed that they have the responsibility to think beyond narrow considerations and focus instead on global interests.
“As the largest democracies, India and the US have to think what they can do to benefit the world,” said Modi.
He also explained India and China were working to enhancing their bilateral ties on various issues and solving their boundary dispute.
Alluding to his belief in the 21st century as ‘Asia’s Century’ he said his government was committed to changing India, the clean Ganga campaign,improving India’s investment environment, and upgrading the Indian railway network to attract huge global investments.
Author Profile
- India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.
Latest entries
DiplomacyApril 23, 2024Resetting West Asia, re-booting the world, but not fast enough: T.S. Tirumurti- India and the WorldApril 22, 2024India’s G20 Legacy: Mainstreaming Africa, Global South in global agenda
- DiplomacyApril 10, 2024Diplomat-author Lakshmi Puri pitches for women power at LSR
- India and the WorldApril 6, 2024UN envoy pitches to take India’s solutions to the world stage
