India's International Relations
India and Afghanistan
Indo-Afghan relation was strengthened
by the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA). SPA provides assistance to re-build Afghan's infrastructure, institutions, agriculture, water, education, health and providing duty-free access to the Indian market. India helped Afghans in the construction of Salma Dam in the Herat Province. India announced 500 scholarships for the children of the martyrs of Afghan Security Forces in school and colleges both in Afghanistan and in India. India is also supporting Afghanistan to improve its public health and small-scale industries. India is at the forefront of the promotion of investment in Afghanistan and a consortium of public and private Indiancompanies has been selected to make one of the biggest investments in the mining sector. To harness India's sports potential, India has built Kandahar International Cricket Stadium. India's Self Employed Women's Association imparts training on sustainable livelihood and to be self- reliant. Thus India is contributing proactively to the development of Afghanistan in the form of monetary aids and funds.
India and Bangladesh
India was the first nation to acknowledge Bangladesh (the former East Pakistan) as an independent country. India and Bangladesh share the longest land boundary of 4096.7 kilometres. India has plans to implement the proposed rail connectivity between Agartala (India) and Akhaura (Bangladesh). Bangladesh has granted India road transit facility through its territories from Kolkata to Agartala via Dhaka under BBIN-MVA (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement). The Farakka accord on sharing of Ganga waters signed in 1977 is a historic agreement. India and Bangladesh share 54 common rivers and a bilateral Joint River Commission is working to maximise benefits from common river systems. The Government of India provides grant assistance for project under 'Aid to Bangladesh' for the construction of buildings, laboratories, dispensaries and deep tube wells. In addition, scholarships are granted by ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) every year to students from Bangladesh and it has initiated a Tagore Chair in University of Dhaka. Both the countries jointly inaugurated the construction of 130-kilometre Bangladesh India Friendship Pipeline between Siliguri in West Bengal and Parbatipur (Bangladesh).
India and Bhutan
Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom. popularly known as a land of thunderbolt. is one of the poorest countries of the world. The diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan were established in 1968 with the appointments of a resident representative of India in Thimphu. Bhutan is a landlocked nation. So it is highly dependent on India for access to sea. India is the principal contributor in the economic development of Bhutan, India declared the bilateral trade relation known as 'Bharat to Bhutan (B2B). India provides scholarship to Bhutanese students to study in prestigious institutions of higher learning and offered help in setting up a digital library in Bhutan. The prestigious Nehru Wangchuk Scholarship is being awarded to deserving and talented Bhutanese nationals to undertake studies in selected premier Indian educational institutions. The hydel power sector represents one of the main indicators of bilateral co-operation between India and Bhutan. So far. Government of India has constructed three hydroelectric projects in Bhutan (Chukha, Kurichchu and Tala). India has helped Bhutan in developing that country's infrastructure by establishing telecommunication and in the construction of hospitals, roads and bridges.
India and China
ndia and Myanmar India's second largest Myanmar (known Four North-Easter Aranachala Pradesh, N 1989) and Mizoram
In terms of geographic and demographic dimension, skilled manpower and civilisational depth, China is the only country in the region which qualifies for comparison with India. China, being the manufacturing hub of the world, is strategically very important to India. India and China share similarity of view on many fronts like World Trade Organisation, international climate change talks and reforms of the World Bank. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which was China's initiative, has granted the observer status to India, while SAARC had granted the observer status to China. Both sides have established more dialogue mechanisms covering diverse sectors. Bilateral trade has registered enormous growth. India and China have signed an educational exchange programme. Under this agreement, scholarships are awarded to 25 students, by both sides, in recognised institutions of higher learning in each other's country.