Motorists drive past as clouds gather over city skyline in Mumbai on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP) (Photo by PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images)
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India continues to focus on its growth despite the flare up in tensions with Pakistan, said Shilpak Ambule, the country’s high commissioner to Singapore.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Inside India,” Ambule said “everybody is on operational alert. But that does not mean that our India growth story and focus on economy gets affected.” Airports have resumed operations, and it is safe to travel in India, he added.
Ambule said that the country had just concluded a trade deal with the UK, and that negotiations on trade deals with the U.S and the European Union were at an advanced stage.
With the U.S “it’s very difficult to give a timeline” to the trade talks, but officials on both sides have been meeting regularly, he added. “The terms of reference have been agreed to and have been signed, and negotiations are actively continuing.”
Investors have been sticking with the India story, with optimism on its growth prospects dwarfing geopolitical fears.
“Structural reforms, resilient domestic demand, and strong macro fundamentals continue to offer a compelling case,” Mohit Mirpuri, an equity fund manager at SGMC Capital, told CNBC last week.
Ambule’s comments come after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech late Monday on “Operation Sindoor,” that saw New Delhi conducting military strikes against Pakistan last week. Islamabad retaliated with missiles and drones.
The countries agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday. When asked if the ceasefire will hold, Ambule told CNBC that “the ball is in Pakistan’s court.”
Modi in his speech said that the operation now defined India’s new counter-terrorism policy, adding that the country would not differentiate between “a government that harbors terror and the terrorists themselves,” accusing Pakistan of harboring terrorists.
“If Pakistan wants to survive, it must dismantle its terror infrastructure. There is no other path to peace.” Modi said.
On May 9, India conducted strikes against Pakistan and what it calls Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, targeting “terrorist infrastructure.” This was in response to a terrorist attack by militants in the tourist town of Pahalgam in Kashmir province, which killed 25 Indian nationals and a Nepalese citizen, the Indian government said.
— CNBC’s Ganesh Rao contributed to this report.