India lays greatest emphasis in augmenting connectivity in the region- Foreign Secretary Shringla

The Government of India lays the greatest emphasis on augmenting connectivity including physical, economic, energy and digital in the region, says Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the training module on India’s neighbourhood at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration on Wednesday, the Foreign Secretary outlined the significance of India’s neighbourhood first policy by highlighting initiatives in this regard taken by the government.

Outlining the economic dimensions of the neighbourhood first policy, Foreign Secretary said that connectivity and growth induce a virtuous cycle feeding into each other. He said that India and Bangladesh will soon be connected through six rail links. Referring to the multi-modal transport system, he said that goods can reach Tripura from Kolkata through Chittagong port and inland water routes. He gave the example of an inland waterways vessel carrying foodgrain which started from Patna to reach Pandu in Assam through the national waterways of India and Bangladesh.

Improved connectivity also means greater people to people contact and goodwill. Expenditure by the visitors have considerable economic benefits and spin offs for India, said the Foreign Secretary. He said that a key differentiating feature of India supported projects in the neighbourhood is their people-centric nature.

Speaking about the energy connectivity, Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that an India-Bangladesh friendship pipeline is under construction and an LNG cross border pipeline and LNG terminal are being explored. He said that India’s energy grids are increasingly being integrated with those of its neighbours. India is also constructing the 1320 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Project in Bangladesh, said Mr. Shringla.

He pointed out two important areas of healthcare and education in which India is working closely with its partners in the neighbourhood. Referring to the supply of covid 19 vaccines  under its ‘vaccine maitree’ programme, Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that countries in the neighbourhood were the first destinations of Indian made vaccines. He said that India has emerged as the educational hub for  the neighbouring countries from where tens of thousands of students are enrolled in Indian educational institutions at various levels.

Foreign Secretary Shringla highlighted the special relationship with Bangladesh. He pointed out that the only country visited by the President, Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister since the pandemic struck has been Bangladesh. They did so to cement a very special relationship on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh and the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, said Mr. Shringla.