ASEAN countries central to India's Indo-Pacific strategy, says foreign secretary

ANI
24 Nov 2021, 22:18 GMT+10

New Delhi [India], November 24 (ANI): The ASEAN countries are central to India's Indo-Pacific strategy and the two fundamental pillars of the nation's foreign policy are the Neighbourhood First and Act East, said foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday.

"India is linked to South East Asia by land through this region. It is linked by the Bay of Bengal to the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific," he added.

The Foreign Secretary's Remarks came on Wednesday at the Annual Session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce held in Kolkata titled 'Bharat@75: Empowering India: Today for Tomorrow'The Foreign Secretary highlighted that lines of communication are being created through North East India to South and South East Asia.

"Five of the six rail links that connected Bangladesh and India before 1965 and were interrupted by the vagaries of history have been reactivated. More are being built," the Foreign Secretary said.

India is now connected to Nepal through the Jayanagar- Kurtha railway line. A Raxaul Kathmandu railway is on the anvil.

The Foreign Secretary also said that the future plans to enhance connectivity include extending the Trilateral Highway to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Railways that link India and Myanmar and further to Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh are all in the realm of possibility.

The above projects will improve India's connectivity in the ASEAN region through the Act East Policy. (ANI)

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Nepal National.

More Information

null in null

Business

Section

Grab app valued at $40 billion in debut on Nasdaq

SINGAPORE: Singapore-based Grab, the major ride sharing app used in South East Asia, has made its stock market debut on ...

After decades of delays, Shell Oil gives up on UK's Cambo oilfield

LONDON, England: Shell Oil announced this week that it has abandoned its plans to develop the Cambo oil field west ...

China Evergrande worries keep lid on Asian stock markets

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia closed modestly lower Monday as markets appeared to be coming to grips with ...

US saw only 210,000 hired in November, falls short of expectations

WASHINGTON D.C.: In a reversal of the predictions of expected job growth issued by economists, U.S. employers hired only 210,000 ...

Dollar Tree raises prices to $1.25 in first price increase in 35 years

CHESAPEAKE, Virginia: Discount retail chain Dollar Tree said it will raise its prices from $1 to $1.25 for most of ...

GM cathode battery plant seeks to lower cost of electric car batteries

DETROIT, Michigan: General Motors has announced that it will construct a new cathode factory in North America for its electric ...

Southeast Asia

Section