NEW DELHI: Underscoring that the NDA Government’s foreign policy focus will be the neighbourhood, Indian ambassadors posted at south Asian countries will be brainstorming at a daylong conclave on Monday, where each mission will be given concrete time-bound follow-up plans.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh’s decision to summon heads of all Indian missions in the region to the June 23 conclave is a follow-up to Prime Minister Modi’s initiative to invite all Saarc leaders to his swearing-in.
The meeting comes within a month of Modi’s short one-to-one meetings with all leaders of the country’s South Asian neighbours.
“It aims to chart out concrete follow-up plans with each South Asian neighbour within specified time frames,” said an official source.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will chair all the sessions to take stock of the current “state of play” in India’s relations with each country. “She will also set the new government’s priorities and approach,” added the source.
The Modi government’s spotlight on the region, which has been clear since the swearing-in invites, was later reinforced by Prime Minister’s choice of Bhutan as the destination for his first foreign trip.
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala and Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom were among the South Asian leaders who had attended Modi’s swearing-in on May 26.
Bangladesh was represented by Speaker Shirin Chaudhury as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on a visit to Japan. Modi had bilateral meetings with each of the leaders.
During his meetings with other leaders, Modi was apparently the strongest votary of empowering Saarc. “In each meeting, he talked about the idea of Saarc and how we should use Saarc to improve regional cooperation and connectivity, and how each country in Saarc has its own specific strengths and opportunities,” Sujatha had told reporters.
Similarly, when Sushma took over, she had clearly put improving relations with India’s immediate neighbourhood as the government’s first priority. She will pay a three-day visit to Bangladesh from June 25 during which she will hold talks with top leadership. India has already made it clear that it wants to improve relations with Pakistan provided it stops terror activities against it.
Recently, Modi had written to Sharif saying he looked forward to charting a “new course” in the bilateral relations in an atmosphere “free from confrontation and violence”.
Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India and held extensive talks with Sushma during which both sides resolved to deepen their cooperation in various areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment