Tuesday, February 15 2005 11:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Observing that South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) had remained as a "consultative body", India yesterday (Feb 14, 2005) decried some of the member countries' attempts to "counter-balance" it within the forum and display "narrow nationalism based on hostility" towards New Delhi.

Underlining the need for "minimal consensual basis" for pursuing SAARC, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said that, India, being the largest country and strongest economy in the region, realises its greater responsibility to encourage SAARC process and is prepared to make neighbours "full stake-holders" in its economic prosperity.

"It should be clear to any observer that India would not like to see a SAARC in which some of its members perceive it as a vehicle primarily to countervail India or seek to limit its room for manoeuvre," he said in a strong-worded lecture on 'India and its neighbourhood' at New Delhi.

Regretting that South Asia did not have a shared security perception and a common security doctrine in contrast to EU (European Union) or ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), Saran said that some of the States perceive security threats as arising from within the region.

"Keeping in mind this reality, our approach to SAARC was the only one logically sustainable - we set aside our differing political and security perceptions for the time being and focus attention on economic cooperation," he said.

India also declared that, it was ready to throw open its markets to all the neighbours and encourage the SAARC provided they displayed sensitiveness towards its security concerns.

"Hostile propaganda and intemperate statements against India need to be stopped as it cannot and will not ignore such conduct and will take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard its interests," Saran said.

"It is true that as the largest country in the region and its strongest economy, India has a greater responsibility to encourage the SAARC process," he said.

In the free markets that India has already established with Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan, it has already accepted the principle of non-reciprocity, he said.

"We are prepared to do more to throw open our markets to all our neighbours. We are prepared to invest our capital in rebuilding and upgrading cross-border infrastructure with each one of them," he said.

"In a word, we are prepared to make our neighbours full stake-holders in India's economic destiny and through such cooperation, in creating a truly vibrant and globally competitive South Asian Economic Community," Saran said.

Saran, however, said while doing so, "We do expect they will demonstrate sensitivity to our vital concerns," apparently referring to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"These vital concerns relate to allowing the use of their territories for cross-border terrorism and hostile activity against India, for example, by insurgent and secessionist groups," Saran said.