India lines up projects to strengthen links with South, Southeast Asia
The Economic Times, By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, Delhi, ET Bureau, Oct 24, 2017
India is considering a series of projects aimed at strengthening links with
South Asia and between the region and Southeast Asia. This comes at a time when the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is losing steam amid Pakistan's
intransigence over connectivity pacts and China is seeking to increase its influence in the
region.
The proposals under consideration include mega cross-border air and land connectivity
projects, along with power and energy initiatives.
Some of these projects were part of the agenda when external affairs minister Sushma
Swaraj met her Bangladeshi counterpart Mahmud Ali in Dhaka on Sunday, officials told
ET.
These included proposals for Dhaka-Chennai-Colombo air connectivity, Chittagong Kolkata-Colombo
shipping connectivity, Bangladesh-North Bengal rail link, Bangladesh Bhutan
internet cables through India, trade route connecting Nakugaon Land Port in
Bangladesh to Gayleyphung in Bhutan via India.
Besides, efforts are on implement the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) motor vehicles agreement (MVA) soon, while keeping a
provision for Bhutan to join later. Bhutan had requested to join the initiative later since its upper house of parliament failed to ratify the
pact.
Regional connectivity heads the agenda for the Narendra Modi government because China is expanding its footprint in South Asia and
Southeast Asia through its One Belt One Road initiative.
The BBIN MVA will complement the proposed BIMSTEC MVA, which is expected to be the key outcome of the seven-nation summit to be held in Nepal early next year to celebrate 20 years of creation of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation. The BIMSTEC MVA will have all multi-modal features connecting Sri Lanka, which has so far been connected to
the six members of the grouping only through air or sea. The two agreements are a critical part of India's Act East policy, which is aimed
at enabling strengthening of ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN in the periphery of China.
BIMSTEC is also mulling connectivity through cruise liners to promote tourism and coastal shipping between the member states. This
will facilitate India's Bay of Bengal outreach, complementing its Indian Ocean Region strategy. Japan is India's key partner in this
process.
Connectivity through trans-border rivers among BIMSTEC member states is also on the cards, officials indicated. A significant
development has been the beginning of the direct sea movement of containerised cargo between India and Bangladesh, which has
reduced shipping time from 30-40 days to not more than 10 days. The two states are linked by cross-border bus and train, besides
movement of cargo through rivers. Additionally, old rail links are being revived and new routes added between India and Bangladesh.
The BBIN MVA seeks to allow movement of a pre-determined number of passenger vehicles (personal, regular and non-regular) and
cargo vehicles along pre-identified routes running across the territories of the four countries. The trial run of a truck carrying cargo on the
Dhaka-Kolkata-Delhi route under the BBIN MVA was carried out successfully in September last year.
A memorandum of understanding for trilateral hydropower cooperation among Bangladesh, India and Bhutan is expected to be signed
soon. India had earlier agreed to facilitate import of electricity to Bangladesh from hydro projects in Nepal.
The MoU for Indo-Bhutan-Bangladesh energy partnership is proposed to be signed in presence of the prime ministers of the three
countries, according to people aware of the matter. The MoU between NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited and Bangladesh Power
Development Board for the supply of 500 mw hydropower from the 900 mw Upper Karnali Hydropower plant in Nepal was signed during
the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in April 2017. At present there are two interconnections through which 660 mw of
power is transferred from India to Bangladesh. The state-run Indian firm plans to set up a 1,320 mw coal-fired thermal power plant at
Rampal in Bangladesh and several private players are also setting up power stations in the neighbouring country.
India will construct a 135-km-long pipeline from Assam to supply oil to Bangladesh following an agreement signed on Sunday after the
Swaraj-Ali joint consultative committee meeting. ONGC Videsh Ltd has acquired two shallow water blocks in Bangladesh, SS-04 and
SS-09, in a 50:50 consortium with Oil India Limited, and is carrying out exploration activities in these blocks.
Meanwhile, eyeing better integration among the seven member states, BIMSTEC is considering other regional efforts as well, including
the Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt, a joint effort of Japan and Bangladesh. Maritime connectivity is crucial for the BIMSTEC region
owing to its geography as well as geostrategic requirements.
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