Modi’s Raisina Dialogue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spelt out the nation’s foreign priorities at the second Raisina Dialogue, an initiative by the current government which it hopes will eventually rival the conclaves in Munich and Singapore (Shangrila Dialogue). For a gathering that is constructed around the theme of “Neighborhood First”, Nepal spoilt the party shortly after the PM had delivered a roundup of Indian foreign policy when its Foreign Minister asked India to keep away from its internal affairs. Unlike last time, no prominent leader from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka turned up. The answer is not hard to find. Both countries are in the middle of an economic-military dalliance with China and might not have wished to turn up for an event where the hosts would invariably indulge in Beijing-bashing.

The Prime Minister did make a brave effort to paint a vibrant picture of India’s diplomacy. For proof, he drew attention to the revival in ties with the US, Russia and West Asia. But problems on the foreign policy front are closer home as Nepal made bold to point out. The PM’s take on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) showed that India is yet to resolve the conundrum of a portion of the route traversing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. While he held an olive branch to China, the PM’s subsequent observation on regional connectivity corridors showed the CPEC breach is far from being filled soon.

As Modi himself said, Tuesday was a day of speeches. There was the Chinese President at Davos pushing for globalization and Theresa May laying out the roadmap for Brexit. But in the context of India’s neighborhood, the one by Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar stood out. Her call for a CPEC-type corridor connecting South Asia and Central Asia with Jammu and Kashmir as its nucleus is worth considering because it has the potential to end the post-Independence isolation of J&K and Punjab from the natural trading routes. The government needs more out-of-the-box ideas such as these to remove the chill that has entered India’s ties with almost all its neighbors.

(Tribune India)

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