Obama assured me that US, China will not interfere in India, Pak affairs: Singh - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Rounding up his four-day visit of Washington before heading for Trinidad to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that he had received a reassurance from US President Barack Obama that the reference to South Asia (India and Pakistan) in last week's US-China joint statement did not mean that Washington or Beijing would interfere in the affairs of these nations. Interacting with the media before his departure on a whole host of issues, including China and Pakistan, Dr. Singh said: "Yes it (US-China Joint Statement) was talked about. President Obama gave an assurance that the US-China joint statement did not mean interference by a third nation in India-Pakistan affairs." He further went on to say: " I did mention to President Obama that like other countries, I welcome the peaceful rise of China and we are discussing the border issue." When asked a question about the annoyance of US on negotiations with China, Dr. Singh said: "We had purposeful negotiations with China and similar negotiations with US." Earlier this week, in a question and answer session with Richard Haas, the president of the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), Dr. Singh said that relations between New Delhi and Beijing have been progressing well over the last five years, hiccups notwithstanding. Candidly admitting that both countries still have differences over the "border problem", Singh said that he was hopeful about resolving the decades-old issue through dialogue at various levels. However, he said, China's growth as an economic power must be recognised and the rest of the world must engage with it. "We want the world to prepare for the peaceful rise of China as a major power. Engagement is the right strategy, both for India and the United States. It has been very hard to engage China in the last five years. We have to recognise that the border problem exists, and that we must resolve it through dialogue. India and China are aware that peace and tranquillity should be maintained," said Singh. He also said there was no doubt that the Chinese growth performance is better and superior than India's. He also admitted that while there was a degree of uncertainty on the part of China vis-à-vis resolving issues with India, and that he did not understand the reasons behind it. As far the economic competitive element between the two countries was concerned, the Indian Prime Minister had said: "I have always believed there are other values to GDP growth. It is important to respect fundamental rights, the rule of law, multi-cultural, multiethnic and multi-religious rights. These have values also. There are several dimensions to human freedom, which are not always linked to GDP," Dr. Singh said. "I would not like to chose the Chinese path. I will prefer to stick to the India path. India may appear as an indecisive democracy at times, but I have seen many democracies having short term maximisers. I also believe that once a democracy decides, any reforms taken, will be far more durable, will be far more effective than reforms introduced by a ruling writ in an undemocratic set-up," he added. India unlike China was not dependent on external stimulants for its growth.