"India Has Come Forward As First Responder Whenever There Is Disaster": PM

India does not seek its dominance but wants to play a role in the prosperity of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, asserting that India's role will be crucial in accelerating the global peace process.

Addressing thousands of Indian-Americans in New York, PM Modi said India today has a foreign policy of maintaining equal closeness with all and not equal distance.

Referring to his remarks "This is not the time for war," PM Modi told the Indian community that the severity and the seriousness of this was understood by all friends.

"Whenever in the world there is a disaster, India has come forward as a first responder," the prime minister said, referring to the recent help provided by New Delhi to people across the world including during the COVID-19 crisis to more than 150 countries.

India is the first country to arrive whenever there is an earthquake somewhere or a civil war somewhere, he said.

"The role of India would be crucial to accelerate the process of global growth, and India's role will be crucial to accelerate global peace," he said.

India's goal is not to increase its global influence but to play a part in its prosperity.

Whether it is promoting yoga, lifestyle or the environment, it does not aspire for only a GDP-centric but a human-centric growth for all of you, he said, adding that India "does not want to seek its global dominance".

India, he said, is not like fire. "We are like the sun which gives brightness," the prime minister said.

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