India's International Relations
India and Maldives
Maldives is located south of Lakshadweep Islands in the Indian Ocean. The relationship with Maldives is important for India given its strategic location and geographical proximity. India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy cordial and multi-dimensional relations. Trade andtourism are being developed between the two countries. Both countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation to enhance maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region through coordinated patrolling and aerial surveillance and exchange of information.
India and Myanmar
India's second largest border is shared with Myanmar (known as Burma till 1989). Four North-Eastern Indian states - Arunachala Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram also share their borders with Myanmar. Myanmar is India's gateway to South East Asia. India is building the Kaladan Multi-Model Transit Transport, a. road-river-port cargo transport project to link Kolkata to Sittwe in Myanmar. A project aiming to connect Kolkata with Ho Chi Minh City on the South Sea for the formation of an economic zone will have a road pass through Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam and work on the first phase connecting Guwahati with Mandalay is currently underway. Myanmar is an important partner in our energy needs for petroleum and natural gas. Some of the Indian companies such as Essar, GAIL and ONGC Videsh Ltd. have invested in Myanmar's energy sector.
India and Nepal
Nepal is a natural buffer between India and China. Being a small landlocked country, Nepal depends on India for economic support and transit facilities. India shares borders in five indian states - - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand - with Nepal. People residing in the border districts on both sides share deeper cultural bonds. Indian firms are the biggest investors in Nepal. India provides substantial financial and technical development assistance with the focus on infrastructure, irrigation, health, energy projects and community development. India built the 204-kilometre long Mahendra Raj Marg to link Kathmandu and India. Nepal is endowed with fast-flowing rivers and its terrain is ideal for hydroelectric power generation. India has taken up the work of 5600 MW Pancheshwar project, which remained stalled for 18 years after agreement. Nepali and Indian people visit each other's country for religious pilgrimage. Pashupati and Janakpur are traditional centres in Nepal whereas Varanasi and the four Dhaams (Badrinath, Puri, Dwaraka and Rameshwaram) are important pilgrimage destinations in India. The bond of friendship further increased when India included Nepalese language in the VIIIschedule of the Constitution. A joint hydropower project is being built on the Sharda River. This power plant helps both India and Nepal with respect to electricity production and irrigation facilities. From the environmental perspective, there are a number of tiger reserves along Indo- Nepal border. The governments of India and Nepal have signed three sister-city agreements for twinning of Kathmandu-Varanasi, Lumbini- Bodhgaya and Janakpur-Ayodhya.
India and Pakistan
Since the bifurcation of territory, which demarcated India and Pakistan in 1947, the two nations have had strained relations due to disagreements over a number of key issues. Terrorism remains our core concern in the relationship with Pakistan. Pakistan has been antagonistic when maintaining relations with India. But India has made extreme efforts to improve and stabilise relations with Pakistan. The cross-border firing between India and Pakistan and the terrorist attacks combined have taken its toll on the Kashmiris, who have suffered poor living standards and an erosion of human rights. Kashmir is the bone of contentionbetween India and Pakistan, which has brought the two countries into an open clash many times. Cross-border terrorism is a major irritant. India tried to bring a positive change in the relationship of the two countries through bilateral agreements such as Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration.
India and Sri Lanka
India has cultural, historical and religious ties with Sri Lanka. Separated by the narrow expanse of the Palk Strait, India and Sri Lanka have shared excellent trade relations committing to each other in both bilateral free trade agreements as well as developing interactions through SAARC. The relationship 'between India and Sri Lanka can generally be termed as friendly, except for the brief spell in which the Tamil ethnic problem cast its shadow on the relations between the two countries. India and Sri Lanka has conventionally close to each other. India is among the top investors in Sri Lanka and its investments are in diverse areas including petroleum retail, IT, real estate, telecommunication and tourism. On the other hand, the Sri Lankan investments in India include Brandix (garment city in Vishakhapatnam), MAS Holdings, John Keels, Hayleys, apart from the other investments in the freight servicing and logistic sector. India offers scholarship slots annually to deserving Sri Lankan students. Sri Lanka is also a partner in Nalanda University Project of India.