As PM points to economic compass

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought to go beyond pre-determined aspects of foreign policy orientation, saying economic development would continue to define India’s engagement with the rest of the world.

Addressing the India Today Conclave, Singh said economic development is the dominating discourse of the day, a fact symbolised by the warming of relations between India and China and the US. ‘‘Who could have imagined a decade ago that China would emerge as our second largest trading partner? In the case of US, an acceleration of people-to-people contact and the consequent business-to-business interaction has forged closer state-to-state relations,’’ he said.

The one area of regret for Singh, however, has been the inability of south Asia to recognise the advantages of closer economic engagement. The ‘‘mere lowering of tariffs’’ and ‘‘pruning of negative lists’’, he felt, did not add up for laying the basis of mutually beneficial ties. ‘‘Greater connectivity, both in transport and communication links, and through the opening up of transit routes can transform our subcontinent into a web of economic and commercial links,’’ he said, in a clear indication to Pakistan which is yet to extend transit rights for Indian goods headed for Afghanistan.