South Asian foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government

[10][11] During the election campaign, before becoming the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi stated that one of the core component of his foreign policy would be neighbourhood first to foster cordial relations and synergetic economic development.

[1][2][3] and he started well by inviting all heads of state/heads of government of South Asian countries in his inauguration and on the second day on office he held bilateral talks with all of them individually which the media dubbed as a 'mini SAARC summit'.

[4] Later during a launch event at ISRO he has asked Indian scientists to take the endeavour to develop a dedicated SAARC satellite[12] to share the fruits of the technology like tele-medicine, e-learning etc.

The first challenge before the new government had come from Herat, Afghanistan where the Indian consulate was attacked by the ISI backed terrorist organisation days before Modi's inauguration.

[13] Potential re-emergence of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the subcontinent following NATO withdrawal from the country by end of 2014 have raised concerns among Indian security establishments.

[6] Hamid Ansari, Vice-President of India attended the inauguration ceremony of new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah on 29 September 2014 in Kabul and the Indian side welcomed the move of new Afghan government to sign a bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the US which will eventually pave the way for around 10,000 US soldier to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014 NATO withdrawal.

This is to provide an alternative sea access to Afghanistan which will help further the Indian investment in the country and bilateral trade which is so far restricted by Pakistan's hostile transit policy through Karachi Port.

[7] And taking a lesson from the previous UPA govt experience Swaraj had discussed contentious issues of Bengal with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee before leaving for Dhaka, indicating a federal style of foreign policy.

The two leaders have discussed mechanism to stop terrorist trespassing through the porous Indo-Bangla border and the stability of democracy in Bangladesh apart from regular water sharing and land boundary issues.

Foreign Minister Swaraj during her maiden trip to Malé on 3 November 2014 held discussion with her counterpart Dunya Maumoon on bilateral and regional issues of mutual interests and also reiterated India's strong commitment towards prosperity, stability and security of Maldives.

[33] He also held bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart in Kathmandu where two sides inked 10 agreements and memorandum of understanding including important ones regarding power trade and transmission.

[34] Once again Modi urged Nepalese law makers to adhere the January 2015 dateline for Constitution writing on the basis of consensus to accommodate views of all sections of people but this time his comments were received with mixed responses.

[36] Meanwhile the two sides got engaged into an ugly gun-firing along the International border and the line of control as well with India accusing Pakistan of violating cease-fire agreement which had further damaged the already shaky bilateral ties.

Later Pakistan tried to internationalize the issue by seeking United Nations intervention but the world body refused to interfere and asked the two party to settle the dispute.

[39] The primary concerns of New Delhi is the excessive Chinese investment and military presence in the island country strategically located off the South Indian coast.

[41][42] Although later both Sri Lanka and China have clarified it as mere refueling and crew refreshment halt on the way to gulf of Aden as part of anti-piracy deployment.

[43] Things started changing however with the 2015 presidential election where Maithripala Sirisena, an old ally and Minister in the Rajapakshe's cabinet, defeated the veteran leader to become Sri Lanka's President.

[46][47] Sirisena's election is expected to balance the island's tilt toward China in recent years,[48] who had earlier proposed a foreign policy catering Indian sensitivities.