NE-ASEAN link welcome initiative

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has rightly underscored the immense potential of developing connectivity infrastructure between India’s North-East and neighbouring countries. Speaking at the National Allies in Development and Interdependence (NADI) Asian Confluence River Conclave in Guwahati recently, Jaishankar said that the coming together of the ‘Act East’ and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policies will have an impact not just on South Asia but on countries beyond the region. Developing connectivity infrastructure through land and sea via Myanmar and Bangladesh will ease access to Vietnam and beyond, to the Philippines. This will help build India’s partnerships with ASEAN countries and open up opportunities for India under the recently announced Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Jaishankar spoke about the revival of six rail links between India and Bangladesh, which have been dormant since 1965. The Shahabazpur (Bangladesh)-Mahishasan (Assam) rail line will be extended in Bangladesh and linked to the Kuluara-Shahbazpur rail line. The Akhaura (Bangladesh)-Agartala (Tripura) link is already yielding benefits, increasing trade. He also drew attention to the benefits of cross-border power transmission lines and digital connectivity infrastructure.

Improved connectivity infrastructure will provide a boost to the backward economies of India’s North-Eastern states, which have suffered the combined impact of decades of insurgency, poor governance, corruption and neglect by successive governments in New Delhi and the state capitals. Road and railway links will open up access for goods produced in these states in markets in South-East Asia and beyond. Availability of new markets will provide incentives for manufacturing, which in turn will create jobs. In addition to trade and manufacturing, connectivity infrastructure will facilitate travel and people-to-people exchanges and boost tourism in the North-East.

But the full potential of such connectivity can be realised only if the situation in the North-East is stable. The situation in the North-Eastern states has improved somewhat but alienation with the Indian State remains strong. Delhi must tread carefully. The development it pursues in the region should be inclusive. That is, it must provide stakes for locals. Besides, cross-border connectivity infrastructure can boost trade only if bureaucratic red-tape is reduced. As a World Bank official pointed out in an interview recently, 22 documents and 55 signatures are needed to move a truck across the border from India to Bangladesh and this process takes 138 hours. The Motor Vehicles Agreement signed under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) framework could make a difference in this regard by making connectivity seamless. However, it is yet to be fully implemented.