Modi's Three Pronged Strategy for South Asia Revealed at SAARC Summit

Modi specifically mentioned by name leaders of Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan but avoided any reference to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif who was also present at the summit.  He mentioned Pakistan just once and even that in the name of developmental.

Modi made a reference to Pakistan in a smart way which goes like this “South Asia is slowly coming together. India and Bangladesh have deepened their links through rail, road, power and transit. India and Nepal have started a new era of cooperation in energy; and, India and Bhutan are making those ties stronger by the day. With Sri Lanka, we have transformed trade through a Free Trade Agreement. We will soon launch a new arrangement to meet Maldives' need for oil. Distance and difficulties have not held back India and Afghanistan. And, bus and train sustain contacts between people in India and Pakistan.”

His second point of plan is also clear in the same message itself. Modi tried to convey that he wants SAARC to focus on developmental and connectivity issues and not allow the nearly three-decade-old regional grouping to degenerate into the familiar India-Pakistan spat anymore like it has happened so far.

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