India National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Friday said that India was not competing with anyone, including Pakistan, adding that the country would not act as an “external geopolitical balancer.”
Addressing the 15th Asian Security Conference 2013 on Emerging Trends in West Asia: Regional and Global Implications, Menon said that India would work closely with its partners in the region.
“We do not see ourselves as an external geopolitical balancer. We are part of the region; we are not from far away. We will work with our partners across the region,” Menon said.
Furthermore, he said that India was not competing with any country, including Pakistan.
Moreover, Menon said that India and West Asia shared a common goal of fighting extremism.
On the ongoing crisis in Syria as rebel forces wage a war against the government, Menon said the issue needed to be dealt with through a political process that was being led by Syrians themselves.
“The country has seen thousands getting killed since the uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime” he said.
Menon added that India would support peace initiatives in Syria including the efforts of UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
