January 5, 2002	Saturday	Shawwal 20, 1422

BANGALORE, Jan 4: British Prime Minister Tony Blair will claim on Saturday a pivotal role for Britain in world affairs after the Sept 11 atrocities, marked by increased cooperation with other nations.

“We do not have an empire, we are not a superpower, but we do have a role and in playing it properly we benefit Britain and the wider world,” Blair will tell the Confederation of Indian Industry in a keynote speech to the organisation’s annual conference in Bangalore, southern India.

“It is a role we should embrace with real confidence, resisting nostalgia, refusing to retreat into isolationism,” he said in the speech, copies of which were made available before delivery.

The address included an implicit defence of further British integration in Europe and of Britain adopting the euro currency, although neither subject was mentioned explicitly.

Blair expressed pride in the role Britain has played since the September 11 attacks on the United States — both diplomatically, in building the alliance against international terrorism, and on the humanitarian front through the provision of aid to Afghanistan.

“Dealing with international terrorism abroad is not just right in itself, it is vital to our economy, our jobs, our stability and our security,” he said.

But he also underlined the importance of working closely with other nations.

“In today’s globally interdependent world, foreign policy and domestic policy are part of the same thing,” he said, hinting at closer European ties to come.

“Proud nations will always guard their sovereignty but the shape of the world today means that self-interest for a nation and the interests of the broader community are no longer in conflict,” he added.—AFP