Bill Clinton: India Can Outgrow China (VIDEO)

Former President Bill Clinton spoke in Chicago this past Saturday at the India Institute of Technology's Global Conference 2009. The focus of his speech was a call to create innovative profitable solutions to reduce greenhouse emissions and to reduce the inequality gap between the world's poor and wealthy. Clinton also mentioned the national healthcare debate, saying he expected a bill to pass.

Following his speech, Clinton participated in a brief question and answer session. When asked how India could play a more significant role in the UN and G20 in the future, Clinton said India has the potential to outgrow China, as long as it makes peace with its neighbor Pakistan. This peace between the two countries could lead to a more modern Afghanistan, contribute to a worldwide drawdown of nuclear weapons, and even indirectly influence a reduction of conflict in the Middle East.
Transcript and video below, courtesy of NDTV.

If you [India] did not have to raise defense spending 20% a year and these countries could be working together I think you will grow faster than China. I think this idea that the Chinese are going to dominate the 21st century is not necessarily true. It depends mostly what you do and if you can continue to pour money into the development of the people and reduce inequalities in India...not the standoffs along the 1971 line or the fights over Kashmir or what ever. Its easier to say than to do, I know that especially after what happened in Mumbai. Where I watched the hotel room I always stay in burning, I know that. but I'm just telling you if Indian-Americans and Pakistani Americans could find ways to work together it would make a big difference. The same thing is true in Afghanistan. I see this all the time. Every time India does something in Afghanistan, Pakistan thinks it is directed against it and vice versa but the truth is if the two countries could find a way to work together and do common projects there, it would do more to stabilize Afghanistan and bring it into a 21st century mindset than where they are now, which a lot of them are in a 19th century mindset, not even a 20th century mindset, than anything else that you could do. If that one thing could be done on the Indian subcontinent it would revolutionize the 20th century in ways no one can imagine. It would help to reduce the nuclear threat the world faces. It would help reduce the rush all these other countries are making to get nuclear weapons. It would indirectly play a major role in encouraging a reduction of tensions in the Middle East. And I think India and Pakistan together would outgrow China in the 21st Century.

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Comments

[kikiposh]

India and China have some similarities in common, both of which have long standing civilization,playing increasingly main roles in recent international affairs.However, in recent years, there is some problems in the border, which makes strained relations in both of countries.
Do you have some ideas about the following topics? Discuss it.

1.China and India are competitors or partners?
2.Should China and India set aside the border dispute in order to develop bilateral relations?
3.Can China and India solve the border dispute in a peaceful way?
4.Is Sino-Indian relationship has a promising prospect?

A forum which you can find the similar threads and thread about Sino- China relations is here:
http://forum.globaltimes.cn/forum/showthread.php?t=8671

[Caramba]

WHEN China, Pakistan, Japan, Australia get together and support each other UNITED STATES should play a smart politics in long run that they can trust one true ALLY that part of the world and that is a DEMOCRATIC and TECHNOLOGY POWERHOUSE in the world and that is I N D I A...

AMEN!

[LovePeacock]

All the while, America will continue to regress.

[munki]

Oh well...

India, rich rules... China, rich and government...

less string... but... a lot of other issues need to be resolved...

Almost 1/4 of China's size with population... 1 bio vs 1.3 bio...

DEFINITELY... it should...

[sighn in]

Pakistan can become a super power if it only lets go of the Kashmir wet dreams.

China can be the mist powerful nation if it can let go of the Tibet.

[Tenjikuronin]

While Pakistan may not become a superpower, it will be better off domestically by letting go of the Kashmir conflict. Pakistan has wasted billions of rupees in Kashmir with little to no results (other than the establishment of more military posts). Time for Pakistan to focus its money on developing the infrastructure of its crumbling cities and to help develop the core areas of Pakistan.

[Jaywalkker]

For a moment it sounded like you were describing America's foreign monetary sinkholes compared to neglected infrastructure. weird

[Khirad]

Hear, hear. Everyone talks of the rising dragon, I say watch out for the (Indian) elephant in the global scene. That part about India and Pakistan working together in Afghanistan though... uh-huh, right, tell me how that works out for ya...

True, China may have a lot more going for it now, but I believe, at least I hope, India will be a rapidly developing force to reckon with. It's in America's interest that we have someone in Asia to buffer China's military expansion (not entirely self-serving since they do it for their own regional interest). I also, obviously, hope it will raise more Indians out of poverty and grow the middle class and provide needed infrastructure improvements (though these, as written at length about by Arundhati Roy, aren't always the best thing for the people).

[mommamia526]

Khirad. We are all brainstorming here, at least that is how I feel, throwing out ideas. In my case I always look for different articles, screening fast through them, to find a combination of messages of the day I can work with. I do not do that consciously and have just recently seen that that is what I do. I feel that it is no coincidence that on the same day, or in the same week, a cluster of events, or commentaries happen. I also do not think that our accidental encounters are all that accidental. Today there is this article, and Mr. Clinton's thoughts, there is the article about Indiaan women demanding a toilet as a prize to give themselves in marriage, and there is Aladdin Elaasar's blog. See what you get out of that combination to make your own observations. As for China vs India/Pakistan, do you know the difference that counts? I will tell you: China is not driven by religion. Understand, I find religion important. It is also important to respect others' religions. But in the U.S. we have, officially, separation of State and Religion. In Pakistani and Indian conflicts the root causes are religion(s). Not every Indian is Hindu. Not every Pakistani is Muslim. But religion drives politics in those countries. Indonesia is officially mostly muslim, however, there ae a number of native religions integrated in Hinduism and now into Islam. Religion should not drive economic and industrial/technological development.

[mommamia526]

Khirad, I do not think that Bill Clinton says that India and Pakistan are going to work together in Afghanistan. Rather he states that IF India and Pakistan both focus on separating their religious/cultural backgrounds from economic, financial, industrial/technological development and begin to thrive, making a huge difference for its populations, it will influence Afghanistan by example. Afghanistan, India and Pakistan may then start building alliances in the non religious/cultural aspects of building their respective nations, finding projects of trilaterial benefit. Being grounded in religion/culture should not preclude having an opening for development and bringing the nation into the current time and development.

[Tenjikuronin]

"Religion" has very little to do with the India/Pakistan conflict's longetivity. The reason the dispute has remained all these years is beacuse it has built numerous political careers on both sides of the border....