New Delhi: The announcement by Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk about developing a special administrative region (SAR) in Gelephu bordering India coinciding with the construction of a railway line connecting Kokrajhar in Assam with Gelephu is yet another manifestation of how the northeastern region is emerging as an important player of New Delhi’s paradiplomacy efforts.
Last month, Wangchuk came on an eight-day visit to India. He started his visit from the northeastern state of Assam where he held talks with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. During the course of his visit, the Bhutanese Monarch visited the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati where he explored the links between Buddhism and Tantrism. He also visited Kaziranga National Park, home to the world famous one-horned rhinoceros, where he enjoyed a safari before leaving for New Delhi from Jorhat.
Soon after the departure of Wangchuk for New Delhi, Chief Minister Sarma called a meeting of officials concerned and directed them to improve and upgrade all roads leading from Assam to Bhutan.
Then, following his return to Bhutan, Wangchuk, on the occasion of the Himalayan kingdom’s National Day on December 17, announced the development of the Gelephu SAR called the Gelephu Mindfulness City. Gelephu is one of the three entry points to Bhutan from India, the others being Samdrup Jongkhar to its east and Phuntsholing to its west.
While announcing the project, the Monarch said that “the land connection from Gelephu or Samdrup Jongkhar through Assam and northeast Indian states, to Myanmar, Thailand, to Cambodia and Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, is a vibrant economic corridor linking South Asia to Southeast Asia”.
Wangchuk’s announcement of the Gelephu SAR project coincided with the concurrent development of a 57.5-km railway line linking Kokrajhar in Assam with Gelephu. The Rs 10-billion project, a result of discussions between King Wangchuck and Modi during the former’s visit to Delhi, signifies a historic milestone in rail connectivity between the two nations. Recognising the pivotal role of smooth trade in fostering economic growth, there are plans to upgrade the existing Land Customs station at Dadgiri in Assam to an Integrated Check Post. This, combined with infrastructure enhancements on the Bhutanese side at Gelephu, will pave the way for a more efficient and streamlined cross-border trade environment.
The Gelephu SAR and the railway project exemplify the growing importance of paradiplomacy in India’s foreign policy.
So, what is paradiplomacy?
Paradiplomacy refers to the international activities carried out by subnational entities, such as states, provinces, regions, or cities that are not officially recognised as sovereign states in their own right. In traditional diplomacy, sovereign states engage in diplomatic relations with each other, but paradiplomacy involves subnational entities asserting themselves on the international stage.
Paradiplomacy can take various forms, including economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, and direct negotiations with foreign entities. Subnational governments may seek to establish sister city relationships, trade agreements, or collaborative initiatives with their counterparts in other countries. This type of diplomacy allows subnational entities to pursue their own foreign policy objectives and promote their interests on the global stage.
The concept of paradiplomacy has gained prominence as globalisation has increased, enabling subnational entities to forge direct connections with international partners. However, the extent to which subnational entities can engage in paradiplomacy often depends on the legal and constitutional framework of the country in which they are located. Some countries have decentralised systems that grant significant autonomy to subnational entities, allowing them to engage in paradiplomacy, while others may restrict such activities to the national government.
So, how has India been engaging in paradiplomacy?
Over the last decade or so, India has experienced a notable increase in its subnational diplomatic engagements. In early 2015, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) invited then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu to lead a prominent delegation to China in April of that year, a month prior to Prime Minister Modi’s scheduled state visit to the northern neighbour. During his visit to Bangladesh in June 2015, Prime Minister Modi included West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as part of his official delegation. This practice of involving chief ministers in overseas visits alongside the prime minister, or having the MEA designate a chief minister to lead a foreign delegation ahead of a prime ministerial visit, represents a relatively recent development in the formal conduct of India's foreign relations.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had previously adopted a similar approach during his visit to Bangladesh in September 2011, including four chief ministers from India’s northeastern states that share borders with Bangladesh.
So, why has the Northeast become important for India’s paradiplomacy?
The northeastern region comprises the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. The region borders four countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. So, it is only natural that the region will become a catalytic agent in New Delhi’s paradiplomacy efforts. Apart from the Assam-Bhutan engagement and the aforementioned examples of state chief ministers being part of prime ministerial delegations on visits to Bangladesh, states like Tripura and Meghalaya have also been given the leeway to engage with neighbouring countries at a subnational level.
Tripura’s engagement with Bangladesh is extremely important for New Delhi in terms of connectivity. Earlier this year, Prime Modi, along with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated the Maitri Setu over river Feni connecting Sabroom in Tripura with Chittagong port in Bangladesh. The Chittagong port is just 80 km from Sabroom, the last border town in Tripura, and the distance can be covered by road in just two-and—a-half hours. With the opening of the Maitri Setu, apart from India’s northeastern region, landlocked countries like Bhutan and Nepal now have got access to the Bay of Bengal.
Rail connectivity between Tripura and Bangladesh is also important for India’s economic strategic interests. The launch of the rail connection between Agartala in Tripura and Akhaura in Bangladesh is one such example. This rail link stretches over 12.24 km, with a 6.78 km dual gauge rail line in Bangladesh and 5.46 km in Tripura. The Akhaura link has the potential to significantly reduce travel time and distance for trains travelling to Tripura, southern Assam, Mizoram, Kolkata, and the rest of India, compared to the longer route via Guwahati and Jalpaiguri stations.
People-to-people ties between Tripura and Bangladesh because of cultural and linguistic similarities is another example of New Delhi engaging a northeastern state in paradiplomacy.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya too is engaging with Bangladesh to boost border trade. Though there is one integrated check post (ICP) between the northeasterm state and Bangladesh, Meghlaya wants one more to be set up. The Meghalaya government also wants to promote a new transport corridor linking Mahendraganj in the West Garo Hills district of the state with Balurghat in West Bengal via Bangladesh.
These apart, the northeastern region is also a key enabler in sub-regional mechanisms like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement.
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