By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, SEPT 30, 2014: THE Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City yesterday. During his interaction at the Council, the Prime Minister made it clear that while India is not against a trade facilitation agreement, the welfare of the large number of poor people in India must be taken into account, and therefore, agreements on trade facilitation and food security must be secured together.

In reply to a question on non-alignment and India's foreign policy, Mr Modi said that in the 21st century, the world was interdependent, and all countries had a stake in each other's welfare.

The Prime Minister said terrorism is an enemy of humanity and therefore all humanitarian forces across the world must unite to fight terrorism. He said all terrorism in India was "exported" terrorism, and was not homegrown. He said as far as India was concerned, its symbols were Buddha and Gandhi.

The Prime Minister said that the United States should not repeat the mistake of Iraq in Afghanistan. He said the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan should be gradual.

The Prime Minister said, India and the United States had a partnership based on shared values of democracy and openness. He said India and China had the capability to resolve the boundary question and there was no need for arbitration in the matter.

The Prime Minister said people had voted for good governance and development in the recent general elections, and there was an atmosphere of confidence. He said the government was working to reduce red-tape and facilitate investment.

In reply to a question, the Prime Minister said electricity was now a necessity and his Government was committed to providing 24x7 electricity to people. He said development and environment were not adversaries, and a balance could be achieved. He also spoke about the Government`s initiatives for clean energy.