To a foreign policy analyst, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit abroad in his second term to Maldives and Sri Lanka was expected. Where the first tenure saw Modi carefully harvesting relations with our neighbours both through bilateral meetings and multilateral conventions, his second tenure is about consolidating those dividends that he had reaped during his first tenure.
The visit to Male and Colombo strengthens the government’s emphasis on the Indian Ocean island states in its regional geography. While clearly, the invitation of the BIMSTEC leaders reflects a new shifting interest for New Delhi focused on eastward connectivity and economic integration, the visit to these two Indian ocean littorals gives an energy booster to his “Act East” policy. On a similar plane, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Bhutan underscores the eastward shift, where between Modi and Jaishankar the focus on India’s neighbourhood was unmistakable.
Between the leaders present in Modi’s swearing ceremony over the years and his early high-level travels, a redefinition of the concept of neighbourhood comes forth. This indicates that the Indian Ocean, the Himalayas, Central Asia and South East Asia (by way of the Indian north east) are the strategic loci of his foreign policy. Following the plummeting of ties between India and Pakistan since late-2016, these trends have already been building for some time now.
Modi’s visit to Maldives
With the Maldives, PM Modi’s visit was astutely designed to showcase that a turnaround has taken place in India-Maldives relations, given the election of a pro-India government in the island country. A slew of announcements, including those focused upon people-centric welfare measures, dominated his visit along with the implementation of an $800 million Line of Credit to the nation. With this, the PM’s visit to the island nation underscores three important objectives; one to continue high-level contacts between close neighbours, assist as developmental partners and strengthen people-to-people ties. Such measures are a stark contrast to China’s approach of extending massive loans for mega infrastructure projects which often results in debt-traps for the host nation.
Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka
PM Modi’s visit to Colombo was prudent. As the first foreign leader to visit a country that is still reeling under the dastardly attacks of the Easter Sunday, his visit was primarily aimed at expressing solidarity with both the people and the government of the nation. India has already invested in a slew of projects in Sri Lanka since 2017 and thereafter, his visit also signaled a commitment to continue bilateral cooperation on those developmental projects.
Moreover, given that India-Sri Lanka already shares a relation fraught with complexities (owing to the Chinese influence in the region, a classic example being the Hambantota Port), PM Modi‘s visit as the first international leader sends a powerful message in the neighbourhood.
What has been palpable in these overseas visits is that under Modi, India’s outreach to the neighbourhood is primarily driven by concerns about China. While given the overbearing Chinese influence in India’s own backyard, the overarching messaging from the Indian side has sought to affirm what countries could gain by engaging with it. As Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar has correctly stated that India’s neighbourhood policy had to be “more generous” and freed from bureaucratic reciprocity. With a fresh and powerful mandate combined with creative intelligence the Modi government is well placed to do it.
India Outbound
June 13, 2019
source https://indiaoutbound.org/pm-modis-eastward-shift-in-neighbourhood-policy/
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