Fictitious interview with Narendra Modi
Answers
Interview:
Do you think India has become a global power under your leadership?
It is well-known that India’s is an ancient civilisation with enormous richness and diversity. Till a few hundred years ago, India contributed a major chunk of global growth. It has contributed to the development of science, literature, philosophy, art and architecture. In doing all this, it did not seek to dominate others but built lasting ties across seas and oceans.In the last few years, we have been actively increasing our contribution in the world, be it in the economic sphere or in the fight against climate change, in the field of space or the fight against terror.
We are running the world’s largest campaign to improve the “Ease of Living” for the people of India and to improve their productive potential via better infrastructure, better services and better technology.
This has been made possible because we have electrified every village; brought over 350 million of our citizens into the banking system; reduced leakage of money in social schemes; built 150 million toilets in rural and urban areas; improved governance by digitising services, made rapid strides to become one of the fastest growing markets for fintech products; and have put the Indian economy in a fast-growth trajectory. We have moved up about 80 places in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. And we have done this within a democratic framework and while preserving the best of our heritage.
There is a large aspirational middle class emerging in India, which has access to all the basic necessities and is looking to move up the ladder in life.
Our mantra is “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”, which means development for all and with the cooperation and trust of everyone. And by everyone, we mean not only our own citizens, but the whole of mankind.
Hence, we are actively working to promote development partnerships with all our friendly neighbours. And we are seeking to build international partnerships to combat global and trans-boundary challenges. These include the International Solar Alliance and an initiative to build a Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
India remains a strong advocate of strengthening and reforming multilateralism amid contemporary realities. In times of global uncertainties, a rapidly growing, democratic and strong India continues to be a beacon of stability, prosperity and peace.
What is the importance of Asean to India’s Act East Policy?
Asean is at the core of our Act East policy. It is the only cooperative mechanism by which we have had uninterrupted summit-level dialogues for 16 years so far.
This is because the Asean region is not just an important gateway to the Indian Ocean region, and not only because it is civilisationally very close to us. It is also because Asean is one of the most economically and politically dynamic regions of the world today. India wishes to see a strong, unified and prosperous Asean playing a central role in the emerging dynamic of the Indo-Pacific. This is in the best interests of India’s prosperity and security as well.
Engagement with Asean has been, and will remain, a critical element of India’s Act East policy and strategy. Our close civilisational links provide a strong foundation on which we have built a robust, modern and multifaceted strategic partnership. Strengthening Asean, expanding connectivity and deepening India-Asean economic integration are among key priorities of our Act East Policy.
We are very thankful to Thailand for steering India’s close relations with Asean under its leadership of the organisation.
What kind of role India would like to play in the regional security architecture?
India has outlined its vision for Indo-Pacific, which is shared by countries of the region as well. This recognises the primacy and the interconnected nature of the oceanic domain. Our views in this regard were articulated by me very clearly at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last year. We believe that the regional security architecture for Indo-Pacific should be open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based, anchored in respect for international law. A stable maritime security environment in the region, including freedom of navigation and over-flight and unimpeded commerce, in accordance with international law including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is essential to any regional security architecture.
I enunciated the concept of SAGAR in 2015. It stands for Security And Growth for All in the Region. “Sagar” in Hindi means sea. We seek to achieve this vision by enhancing mutual trust and expanding security cooperation. India will work towards evolving common perspectives on the regional security architecture and the principles underlining it, and developing a viable institutional framework for addressing common security challenges, building on the existing frameworks and mechanisms.