Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

NAM is a frame of mind : PM

Q1-On the impact of terrorism on Indo-Pak relations

PM - Our position is quite clear. Terrorism today constitutes a threat for both countries. And therefore I believe consistent with the January 2004 statement, consistent with the September 2004 joint statement, consistent with the April 2005 statement that I and President Musharraf signed, it is incumbent on us to work together in a manner that inspires confidence that both of us are very serious about tackling the menace of terrorism. That's the minimum I feel our two governments, our two systems should commit to achieve.

Q2�Structure or agenda for meeting with President Musharraf

PM - We will be discussing all aspects of the relationship between our two countries. India is not afraid of any discussion.

Q3� Trust Pakistan

PM - There is a problem of trust deficit between our two countries. And we have to take that on board. We have to take adequate precautions and General Musharraf, he is the President of Pakistan and we have to deal with whoever is in power in Pakistan. And I have always said that the destinies of the two countries are very-strongly inter-linked and full development potential of the sub-continent cannot be realized unless there is reconciliation between India and Pakistan.

Q4�On Disarmament at NAM summit

PM - As far as India is concerned, despite that fact that India is a nuclear weapon state, our commitment to disarmament remains strong. And that's our civilizational heritage. From Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi made concrete proposals for disarmament at UN General Assembly. And we will update these ideas and present it to the General Assembly this year. So there should not be any doubt that we are fully in support of any initiative which will help to promote universal nuclear disarmament. But one has to be realistic enough to recognize that this is not going to happen overnight. So any NAM initiative would have our support.

Q5�On Venezuela and Guatemala for non permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

PM- We have not taken any decision. I have asked our permanent representative at the UN to find out what are the prospects of various countries. We will take a decision well in time.

Q6�On Malegaon and Mumbai blasts

PM - We have to work harder. I called the Chief Minister's meeting to discuss what needs to be done to strengthen our intelligence system, to promote greater co-ordination between states and between Centre and states. All these things, I think require a structured approach.

Q7�On Malegaon blasts- ruling out involvement of Right wing terror outfits

PM -It would be inappropriate for us to rule out anything or rule in anything. I think there should be a fair investigation which inspires confidence and brings out the truth and nothing but the truth without anything pre-conceived notion. That has to be the objective.

Q8�On NAM, India being isolated

PM- There is no question of India being isolated. Our stand is fully in conformity with what our founding fathers of the Republic would have liked us to do it. Non-alignment is a state of mind with the ability to exercise an independent judgement on all issues, I think in that sense, non-alignment continues to have its relevance.

I don't buy this argument that most members of NAM do not want relations with United States. And we are not seeking good relations with United States at the cost of other countries. Our desire to normalize and expand relations with the US in no way contradicts or in no way runs counter to the interest of other countries.

Q9-On Malegaon blasts

PM - I have said this that we have to strengthen our intelligence set-up. Once events take place, we have to strengthen our investigative methodology. There is a problem. I do not deny that. We are doing the best we can. But there is considerable scope for improvement particularly in strengthening our intelligence gathering at the grass-root level, strengthening coordination amongst states and strengthening coordination between centre and the states.

Q10�On meeting Musharraf in Havana

PM - I will share with General Musharaff our perceptions of what's the role of external elements in promoting terrorism in our country. We will have an exchange of views on all issues particularly the commitment of Pakistan to not to allow Pakistan territory and that includes parts of Jammu & Kashmir which is in their occupation to mount terrorist attacks against India.

Q11-On India's air-strike capability being compromised.

PM - I don't think it is compromised but certainly I think we have to keep our powder dry. We have to take note of the fact of what is happening in our neighbourhood. All these things have to be kept in mind.

Q12- Cooperation with developing as well as developed countries.

PM - Well, as have-nots of the world, we have to toss all the balls. I've always said that foreign policy is essentially a device to widen our development options. The foremost problem before our country is to get rid of chronic poverty, ignorance and disease which still afflict millions of people. We need a strong economy. We need a fast growing economy. We need a pattern of growth which creates a lot more jobs. Whether it's improving relations with the US or improving relations with China or choosing the potential of cooperation with other developing countries whether in Africa or in Latin America, I think it fits into the over-all picture of making use of all opportunities to expand our economic and other multi-faceted contacts with other countries.

Q13-About a new foreign minister.

PM - Yes I've said there is a need for a full-time foreign minister and hopefully when I go back there should be a foreign minister in place. I'll be back on the 18th and I think soon thereafter.

Q14�On Cabinet re-shuffle.

PM - You asked a question about the foreign office. As of now I am thinking of only having a foreign minister.

Q15- On cooperation with Brazil.

PM - Brazil has always fascinated me personally - there are people like Celso Furtado, the great Brazilian economist. Brazil is now in a state of development where there are many complimentaries between Brazil and India. I do believe our trade is expanding fairly fast. Brazil is an agricultural superpower. We can learn a great deal from the way their universities function, the way agricultural research function. Brazil has done remarkably well in energy security, they have offered us participation in exploration and development of their oil-fields. And also the ethanol initiative - Brazil has become nearly self-sufficient in its energy requirement. There is considerable scope for participation in the science & technology, in energy, agricultural technique and agricultural research, in all these fields we can learn a lot at the same time I think Similarly, Brazil can learn a lot from our development experiences.

Q16�On football coaches from Brazil

PM - Brazil's credentials as a football power are well-known. Mr Priyaranjan Dashmunshi has asked me to raise this matter with the government of Brazil even though this does not happen to be a subject between two governments.

Q17� Football and sports links.

PM- We must promote increased interaction with other countries. That also applies to the field of sports also. If we are going to have the Asian Games, if we are aspiring to have the Olympics in our country we must improve our capabilities in sports. If cooperation with other countries includes getting help - some coaches from other countries, I don't see anything wrong in that.

Q18�On NAM bi-laterals

PM -Various meetings are being lined-up. And you will know on due course.

Q19�On Indo-Pak talks no progress has been made.

PM - I don't see from recent meetings that's correct. I think we have moved very considerably over the last two years. Transportation routes have been opened up not only between the two parts of Jammu & Kashmir but also between our Punjab and their Punjab. Amritsar and Nankana Sahib, Munnabao and Kokrapar . Also two years ago, you could not say we would allow Hurriyat people travel freely wherever they wanted to go. They have been going on all directions. It's an unprecedented development. People of both countries including the two-parts of Jammu & Kashmir are meeting frequently to discuss possibilities of cooperation. So I don't know if it's correct to say that no progress has been made. We have been discussing various issues at part of the composite dialogue. We can and we should move forward. But this terrorism will surely act as a damper. I have said more than once that I can't carry the Indian public opinion with me if terrorist acts continue to plague our polity. Whatever, be the cause of that puts a damper on Indo-Pak relations. Whether in Mumbai or elsewhere if these events take place that certainly vitiates the climate.

Q20� Terrorism and peace moves, how do you reconcile both ?

PM - As far as India's concerned, I think, we've given them substantial amount of evidence. But as far as the past is concerned, Pakistan sponsored terrorism has certainly been a fact of life. And the fact that Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf signed the joint statement in 2004 was in a way a tacit recognition of the ground realities and their solemn agreement to move forward in the reverse direction. But it is also true that incidents take place in Pakistan also. That Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism. These groups, whether it's Lakhsar-e-Toiba or Jaish-e-Mohammad, they can act autonomously also. But our experience has always been in the past there has been, I would not use strong words, but our worry has been that Pakistan government has not done enough to control these elements.

Q21�Globalization.

PM - I think what we want is an inclusive growth not only domestically, but also an inclusive globalization where the benefits of the tremendous advances in science and technology lead to the improvement of the human condition all-round. It's certainly possible as never before in human history to abolish poverty, ignorance and disease ; the means exist, the technology exists. What is missing is the social engineering. And it's a task for the world statesmen. We have a global economy of sorts but we lack a global polity, a stable global polity. We need to democratize the structures of governance at the international level so that concerted efforts can be made to make the process of globalization as inclusive as it should be.

Q22�Cooperation with Cuba

PM - I think we can learn a great deal from Cuba ( and China as well ). Universal literacy, their health-care standards. And these are areas we need to improve our own performance and we have a great deal to learn from other developing countries.

Q23�Democracy in Pakistan

PM - The general belief is democracy is good for Indian people and is good for the people of the world. But what system prevails in Pakistan is for the people of the Pakistan to decide.

Q24�On Lankan ethnic issue

PM - We are in contact with the Sri Lankan government. We are also in contact with the facilitators-the Norwegians. And our effort is to ensure that the ceasefire holds and that both parties are scrupulously committed to preserving the ceasefire. I think that's an essential pre-requisite before we can move forward to a durable solution.