PM Modi's bilateral relations go beyond official engagements, says Sushma

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral relations with different nations go beyond mere official engagements, adding that during his visits abroad, he reached out to people in every walk of life.

"In each visit, Prime Minister reached out to people in every walk of life, on a scale rarely seen before during visits by Indian leaders. It reflected our belief that in the modern era, relations between nations go well beyond national capitals and official engagements," Swaraj said while speaking on the Prime Minister's recent visits abroad in the Lok Sabha.

"Our external engagement stands out not merely for the symbols of honour that he received, but also in terms of outcomes," she added.

Speaking further about Prime Minister Modi's travels, Swaraj shared the key positions that Australia and Fiji hold for India.

"Despite our shared democratic values with Australia and her enormous potential to become a vital strategic and economic partner for India, it took 28 years for the Prime Minister of India to visit Australia... Prime Minister Modi had the honour to address the Joint Session of the Australian Parliament - the first Indian Prime Minister do so - and became the first international leader to address Fiji's recently elected Parliament under the new Constitution that restored democracy to the island country. Both addresses were extremely well received in the host countries and the world," she said.

"Although Fiji is an influential country in the Pacific region and 37% of its population is of Indian origin, his visit to Fiji was the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 33 years. The Prime Minister became the first Indian leader to host a meeting of Pacific Island countries during his visit to Fiji. The Pacific islands share our challenges and also collectively constitute an influential voice in international forums. This pioneering initiative received a rousing response from the island countries. It marks the beginning of sustained Indian partnership with the Pacific region," she added.

Swaraj also spoke of India's deepening relations with South-East Asia with respect to the Act East Policy and with the United States of America.

"We have elevated our relations with Japan to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership; tangibly deepened our relations with China, while bringing more focus on outstanding issues; restored the momentum in our strategic partnership with the United States; charted a new course in our relations with Australia; and, translated a hesitant Look East Policy of the past into a proactive Act East Policy," she said.

"As our government prepares to meet the infrastructure gap in India with the next generation infrastructure and develop India's manufacturing sector, we have received a commitment from Government of Japan of facilitating public and private funding of approximately USD 35 billion over the next five years; agreements with China on two industrial parks and intended investments of USD 20 billion; an estimated investment plans of USD 42 billion from U.S. companies over the next five years," she added.

"Our engagement with the United States also helped secure our interests on food security in the WTO and advance the negotiations on the Doha Development Round of WTO. This initiative has contributed to strengthening the global trading regime, which is of direct interest to India, without in any way diluting our fundamental obligation to protect the interests of our poor," she further said.

Talking about the energy-related agreements that Prime Minister Modi has overseen, Swaraj said, "With Australia, we have signed the civil nuclear cooperation agreement and other agreements to strengthen our energy security. With the United States, we have signed a significant partnership agreement to use renewable energy for rapidly expanding rural access to energy."

Swaraj also spoke of the deepening cooperation between India and Nepal.

"With Nepal, we have entered a new era of cooperation that has eluded us for decades. Nearly two decades after signing the Mahakali Treaty with Nepal, we have finally constituted the Pancheshwar Development Authority for the 5600 MW multipurpose Pancheshwar Project," she said.

"In addition, we have entered into a new Power Trade Agreement with Nepal; two Indian companies have received Project Licence for two hydropower projects for 900 MW each; and, we have signed the long overdue Motor Vehicles Agreement, which will make travel and tourism easier for people of both countries," she added.