Lecture on redefining India's neighbourhood held in New Delhi

The India Habitat Centre and Delhi Policy Group organized a lecture series on 'Redefining India's Neighbourhood' in New Delhi.

The conference was chaired by former diplomat Ambassador Leela K. Ponappa and was attended by senior government officials, and representatives of various think-thanks, civil society groups and NGOs.

The lecture highlighted how India constituted its presence as a neighbour as volatile situations is occurring in some of its neighbouring countries. Topics also included a discussion on the geo-political shift, the power shift from West to Asia, the rise of China, United States pervert and its policies towards Asia, Maritime issues and Islamic factors.

India's role in Central Asia, especially Afghanistan, was also emphasized in the discussion.

"India and Afghanistan have had historical relations over many centuries and this has been in many areas of trade, people to people movement and there have been military movements and so on but today Afghanistan searches for peace and stability, India have been a very active partner in economic and social development through projects as diverse as helping with hospitals, with agriculture, with nutritional supplies to school children, with power lines, with road building," said Ponappa, a former deputy national security advisor.

Ponappa said she believed that Afghanistan must take charge of its own security and economic challenges, but added that India will play its role to help the former in achieving its goals.

"The kind of destabilization of Afghanistan that has taken place essentially from Pakistan I think that is well known can come to an end and where there are commitments made, guarantees provided that Afghanistan will be left alone to handle its own peaceful development and rehabilitation after many years of War. So India is partner with many other countries on this while making commitments bilaterally over 2 billion USD to help Afghanistan with its development programme. It is entirely peaceful approach and I think it has been recognized by the people of Afghanistan as a very positive contribution," said Ponappa.

India believes in peace and development and wants its neighbours to remain peaceful.

Afghanistan has been through a dreadful set of years, decades of war and whatever it requires in terms of rebuilding it self towards establishing peaceful and prosperous society that is something India has been doing in consultation with the people of Afghanistan on the Central and the local levels.

.