Indo-UK ties not founded upon shared history, but shared future: David Cameron

Cameron was in Chennai to take part in the event honouring the Sanmar Group’s founding leader, the late KS Narayanan. “It’s always great to be in India. It was one of my missions in politics to take our countries’ relationship to the next level. Our partnership is not just founded upon a shared history, it is about a shared future,” he sought to point out.

Despite concerns about the globalised economic model, Cameron sees himself as a “big supporter” of free market economy. Cameron remarked that there is a backlash against free markets and the concern that globalisation isn’t working. “There is the uncertainty about how to handle the rise of great powers. There is the speculation about whether open, liberal democracy is still the right model for success. There are the questions – like how do we fight terrorism in the age of the internet? How do we safeguard our environment when it’s clear the climate is already changing,” he observed. He advocated the need to correct the course so that nations that have been left behind in this economic race derive benefits. For that to happen, he cited the examples of allocating a greater share of the national income on education and skills training that had transformed the status of countries progressing on this model. The former PM of UK also lauded the flagship programme ‘Skill India’ launched by the Modi government.

“As we correct course of globalisation, at the heart is the business itself,” he said, highlighting the role of businesses that must go beyond their roles of generating job opportunities so that the economy got a fairer share of progress.

He also pointed to the rise of great nations. The White House may believe it to be a zero sum game, but Cameron held that WTO, IMF and the UN like institutions were perceived to be letting nations down. This had led to countries turning away from such organisations and going it alone. Instead, the way to make change is not to isolate or shun but embrace change, he opined.

He went on to say strongmen leaders like Russia’s Putin were not in favour of a robustdemocracy.

Hailing the nuanced leadership style of Narayanan, the former UK premier said, “He was not an impulsive man.” Like him, leaders must take time and space to make decisions and not resort to knee-jerk reactions especially in an era when tweeting live from a meeting underway had become the norm.

He cited the example of former British PM Winston Churchill and his cabinet, during the World War, debating inside 10 Downing Street, for four to five days as to whether to fight all or surrender. He said big decisions had to be made for big challenges and only then could extremism be defeated or climate change be controlled.