Jairam
Ramesh’s interview with Pranay Gupte
‘We always said,
‘Look East’, but then we would go West,’ Mr Jairam Ramesh was saying
in his small ground-floor office here over the weekend. ‘Now India wants
to go East and also have the East come to us.’
That
means, for example, India is proposing economically integrating parts
of its 3.2 million sq km of land with countries like Singapore.
In
particular, the resource-rich but economically struggling Seven Sisters
– the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura – ‘need to develop with the cooperation
of South-east Asia, to which they are geographically close’, Mr Ramesh
told The Straits Times.
‘These
states have biodiversity, hydropower, oil, gas and coal – but they are
waiting for integration into South-east Asia’s economy.
‘Indeed,
there’s no reason why the Seven Sisters cannot remain politically united
with India but also economically integrated into South-east Asia’s flourishing
economies,’ he said.
‘We
want investment in manufacturing and in developing agro-business. Special
export zones and eco-tourism are other areas for development.’
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh represents Assam, so ‘there’s a natural affinity
there’.
For
foreign investors, these regions of India – and others as well, of course
– offer political stability, cheap labour, educated workers proficient
in English, and an already large but still growing consumer market (50
million people). Foreign companies get major tax holidays, and there
is no tax on exports.
Then,
specifically, there is India’s relationship with Singapore.
‘India
would like to… become a back office for the multinationals based in
Singapore,’ Mr Ramesh said. ‘It’s India’s wish to be aligned with Singapore’s
economy so that we are engaged as service providers. And since Singapore
already has a free-trade agreement with the United States, Indian companies
could look at Singapore as an entry point for entering the big US market.
After all, the prospects of an India-US free-trade agreement are pretty
remote right now.’
Who
is Mr Ramesh and why should it matter what he says about India and South-east
Asia?
The
50-year-old Tamil Brahmin heads the economic department of the Indian
National Congress, which leads the ruling 13-party coalition of the
United Progressive Alliance. He is among the three or four people who
plotted the stunning defeat of the ruling National Democratic Alliance,
led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in last month’s
general election. He is also a key adviser to numerous governments of
India’s 29 states and seven federal territories.
But
perhaps most significantly, Mr Ramesh is particularly close to two people:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the head of the
Congress Party. To put it another way, when Mr Ramesh speaks – and he
does so with remarkable clarity and eloquence – he is really enunciating
what is on the minds of those two extremely powerful people.
‘We’re
certainly more South-east Asia-centric than the previous government,’
Mr Ramesh said. ‘And we’re certainly less obsessed with the United States
than the BJP.’
That
is not to say the new government is about to jettison its predecessor’s
entire foreign policy. But Mr Ramesh leaves little doubt the Singh government
will give more priority to strengthening political and economic relations
with Singapore and South-east Asia.
In
fact, he expressed India’s particular gratitude to Prime Minister Goh
Chok Tong for sponsoring its Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum
membership attempt, although India eventually failed to gain entry.
Mr Ramesh called Mr Goh ‘India’s steadfast friend’.
He
conceded that India had missed several opportunities to strengthen economic
ties with South-east Asia; for example, in 1965 and 1967 it declined
opportunities to join Asean, decisions he termed ‘big mistakes, because
we lost out on opportunities to be part of the tremendous economic growth
of the region’.
He
said a framework of a free-trade pact between India and Asean was ‘in
the pipeline’.
‘These
may be small steps for South-east Asia, but they are giant steps for
India,’ Mr Ramesh said.
‘There’s
no question that in the past, our attitude towards the South-east Asia
and East Asia region was condescending and culturally and linguistically
arrogant,’ he said.
‘I
think that part of the resentment many South-east Asians have towards
India stems from this earlier arrogance on our part,’ Mr Ramesh said.
‘But
that’s changed now,’ he declared. ‘We’ve moved a very long way in building
better ties with South-east Asia. Singapore has heavily invested in
our telecom industry; the Malaysians are helping build highways. South
Korea’s LG and Hyundai are doing remarkably well in India. Trade and
investment generally are growing.
‘But
it’s only the tip of the iceberg. We are confident about much better
times ahead.’
(Originally
appeared in The Straits Times)
Copyright The Straits Times. All Rights Reserved.
