Neighbourhood First Policy

Background and evolution

South Asia is one of the least economically integrated regions in the world. Its smaller countries often see India as dominant and have used ties with China to balance it. Earlier Indian governments developed approaches to the region: I. K. Gujral's doctrine (1996–97) said India should give more than it receives from smaller neighbours without expecting reciprocity, and should not interfere in their internal affairs.

Neighbourhood First built on these ideas with a stronger focus on delivery. Early steps included the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh in 2015, which exchanged enclaves and settled a long dispute, the Motor Vehicles Agreement among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN), electricity trade, rail and road links, and a South Asia communication satellite launched in 2017. With SAARC stalled because of tensions with Pakistan, India increasingly used BIMSTEC and bilateral or sub-regional frameworks.

Key features and provisions

• Connectivity: cross-border rail, roads, inland waterways, ports and power grids.
• Development aid: grants and lines of credit for housing, health, schools and infrastructure.
• Crisis response: humanitarian aid during the Nepal earthquake (2015), Maldives water crisis (2014) and the COVID-19 pandemic, when India supplied vaccines under Vaccine Maitri.
• Economic support: about 4 billion US dollars of assistance to Sri Lanka during its 2022 economic crisis.
• Security cooperation: counter-terrorism, maritime security and training of armed forces.