RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2016
TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2021
PARTICIPATION WITH BIMSTEC ALLIANCE
2016. SHRI SUJEET KUMAR:
Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state:
(a) the current status of India’s participation with reference to the North-Eastern Region for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation(BIMSTEC) alliance;
(b) the status of plans that have been made to reassess the progress of the India Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project under BIMSTEC, if any; and
(c) the direct impact of the BIMSTEC’s cross-country alliance on Government’s ‘Act EastPolicy’ under the country’s proposed foreign policy, if any?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[DR RAJKUMAR RANJAN SINGH]
(a) India is actively participating in all cooperation programs and activities of BIMSTEC. Given its geographical location, North Eastern Region stands to derive significant benefit from this cooperation.
(b) Both projects are part of the finalized BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity. However, there are no plans to reassess the Projects under BIMSTEC.
(c) BIMSTEC serves as a vehicle for regional engagement among its member countries in South and South-East Asia. It is complementary to Government’s Act East Policy, which is aimed at promoting economic cooperation, cultural ties and developing strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, thereby providing enhanced connectivity in its broadest sense, including political, economic, cultural and people-people relations. Act East Policy is a major pillar of India’s foreign policy with the objective of benefiting all the States of India, especially those in Eastern India and North Eastern India.
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