CHENNAI: Betting on India’s vibrant holistic democracy, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the country should take up a leadership role as it would help shape the future of the whole Asia-Pacific region.Clinton said the US encouraged India to not only look east but also to ‘engage and act’ east. “India’s leadership in south and central Asia is critically important,” she said. The Indian democratic setup allowed the participation of people belonging to all backgrounds and faiths, and this served as a model to neighbours like Sri Lanka, which is working towards political reconciliation, she said, adding that citizens of the island nation deserved equal hope and opportunity for a better future.Stating that the role she was asking India to play was ambitious, Clinton said, “Yes, it is an ambitious agenda, but we can afford to be ambitious.”“It’s time (for India) to lead. It has to do more to integrate economically with neighbours Afghanistan and Pakistan and take a more assertive role across the Asia-Pacific,” Clinton said.“This is not a time when any of us can afford to look inward at the expense of looking outward. This is a time to seize the emerging opportunities of the 21st century. This is a time to lead,” she said.“We are betting on India’s future...that opening of India’s markets to the world will produce a more prosperous India and South Asia...that India’s vibrant pluralistic society will inspire others to follow a similar path of tolerance. We are making this bet not out of blind faith but because we have watched your progress with great admiration,” she added. Clinton also advocated more cooperation between India, US and China. She admitted it was “not easy”, but pointed out there were areas of common interest.
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