The Guardian

We must forge a new special relationship with India

Sept 5, 2006

For too long, politics in Britain has been obsessed with Europe and the US. It is time to look to where our strategic interests lie.

-David Cameron

    I arrived in India for the first time in seven years for what I'm sure will be an exhilarating and eye-opening visit. India is the world's largest democracy, a rapidly growing economy, a huge potential trading partner, a diverse society with a strong culture of pluralism, and a key regional player - a force for stability in a troubled part of the world.
 

    So this is India's time. For most of the past half century we in the west have assumed that we set the pace and we set the global agenda. Well now we must wake up to a new reality. We have to share global leadership with India, and with China. And we must recognise that India has established beyond argument, through its economic and political success, its right to a seat at the top table. India, one of the great civilisations of the world, is truly great again.
 

    We in Britain should be particularly alive to the momentous changes happening in India. We share so many ties, not least the many people of Indian origin who live in Britain and make an enormous contribution to it. Our countries are also linked by the Commonwealth, in which India is not just the most populous member but has the largest economy after Britain's.
 

    And the links between our two economies are strengthening fast. A few years ago India was the 10^th largest investor in the UK; now it is the third largest. Five hundred Indian companies are based in London, and more are opening all the time.
 

    So our relationship goes deep. But I think it can and should go deeper. For Britain, there's a precedent. Our special relationship with America has been forged through a shared past and a shared understanding of the world. And now, in the 21st century, as the world's centre of gravity moves from Europe and the Atlantic to the south and the east, I believe it is time for Britain and India to forge a new special relationship, to meet our shared challenges in this new era of International affairs.

    Three challenges in particular stand out: fighting terrorism, protecting the environment and globalisation.

Britain and India do not have to explain terrorism to each other. A year last July, terrorists murdered more than 50 people on the London transport system. Almost exactly a year later terrorists murdered more than 200 people on the transport system in Mumbai.

We know that terrorism cannot be appeased: it must be defeated. Of course this requires tougher security measures, including armed force. But we shouldn't downplay the importance of international cooperation and thoughtful efforts to strengthen our societies at home. India has much to teach us; it has the world's second-largest Muslim population, and people are free to be Indian and Muslim, Indian and Sikh, or Indian and Hindu, without any contradiction.
 

    The second challenge our countries face together is that of protecting the environment. As I have repeatedly argued, the threat of climate change is real and the costs of failing to act are vast. Those costs are financial and social, as well as environmental - and while they will fall on all countries, they will hurt poorer countries the most.

In the past, we have been able to negotiate environmental agreements that recognise the older, developed economies' share of the responsibility for environmental problems. For example, in the successful Montreal protocol on ozone-depleting substances, India and China's compliance was phased and there was also provision for substantial technology transfer to help make necessary changes. This should be a model of how to tackle the challenge of climate change today. We must find solutions to climate change that support, rather than obstruct the aspirations of India and others for faster economic growth and rising prosperity.
 

    When it comes to the challenge of globalisation, India has taken the right steps to achieve the economic growth that is essential for tackling poverty. And India's global competitiveness is steadily growing. Today, India produces a million engineering graduates each year, compared with fewer than 100,000 in the US and Europe.

But much more needs to be done to create more trade and investment opportunities for both our countries. For example, steps to open up markets in banking, insurance and retailing would be good for India and good for Britain.
 

    I attach the highest priority to Britain's relationship with India. For too long, politics in this country has been obsessed with Europe and America. Of course these relationships are, and will continue to be, vital. But serious and responsible leadership in the 21st century means engaging with far greater energy in the parts of the world where Britain's strategic interests will increasingly lie.
 

    That's why George Osborne, who has joined me in India, spent last week meeting the next generation of leaders in Japan. It is why William Hague and Liam Fox are in China this week. In an ever more connected world, we cannot afford to ignore the forces that are shaping it.

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