Continuation of a generous, non-reciprocal development policy towards neigbhouring countries will be the main thrust of India's Neighbourhood First push, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at a briefing to present the 100 day report card of Modi 2.0 government. He pointed out that the policy was put into deed on the first day of the new government itself, with leaders of the BIMSTEC countries being invited for the swearing in of the new government.
He mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made the neighbourhood his first port of call this time, too, with Maldives being the first country he visited after his swearing in, followed by Sri Lanka. Later, Modi also went to Bhutan. Jaishankar himself has visited several neighbouring countries including Bangladesh and Nepal. The minister emphasised that timely delivery of projects would be a priority. India has successfully undertaken and even delivered houses in the Rakhine area of Myanmar, Gorkha area of Nepal and several areas in Sri Lanka.
The minister said that in the last five years, India's foreign policy was syncing with its internal economic development, which was obvious from the economic outcomes and technology related decisions taken at bilateral meetings. The focus for the days to come would continue to be on these lines. He said that India recognised the growing multipolarity of the world, which meant multiple narratives. He said it was important for India's personality to express itself in these narratives. The International Day of Yoga, and the global celebrations to mark 150 years of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and 550 years of the birth of Guru Nanak were attempts in this direction.
The minister noted that India was keen to be on good terms with all the global powers, since this was important in the rapidly changing global scenario. He said that Africa has been regarded as the focus continent for India to expand its footprint in. Noting on the outcomes since the last term of the government, he said that of the ten billion dollars promised in Lines of Credit, India had already disbursed 6.5 billion. In addition, it gave 700 million dollars in grant, and trained 40 thousand people from the African continent in various skills.
While Africa will continue to remain a priority, in the coming months, India would focus more on Latin American and the Caribbean.