Inaugural Session of the Conference ‘Assessing India’s Connectivity with its Neighbourhood’, 03 Aug 2018

Welcome remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director VIF

Hon'ble Minister of Petroleum, Dr Dharmendra Pradhan, Admiral KK Nayyar, Chairman VIF, Director General Confederation of Indian Industry, Distinguished participants, Excellencies, Members of the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this conference being organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Vivekananda International foundation on connectivity in India's neighborhood.

The VIF is an independent, non-partisan think tank dedicated to high quality research on issues of national interest. In our work we are guided by Vivekananda’s motto of “Seeking Harmony in Diversity”. We have had the honour of welcoming Indian and foreign dignitaries on several occasions in the past. Today, we have the privilege of welcoming Hon’ble Minster Shri Dharmendara Pradhan. We are most grateful to you, Sir, for agreeing to our request to inaugurate the seminar today. We gratefully acknowledge the special effort made by the minister to be here during the parliament session. Your presence here adds weight, substance and prestige to the conference.

Shri Pradhan is a well known political figure. He has been:-

• The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas since 26 May 2014,
• Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship since 3 September 2017,
• MP of Rajya Sabha for Madhya Pradesh since 3 April 2018,
• Member of Parliament (2004-2009),
• MP of Rajya Sabha for Bihar (3 April 2012 - 2 April 2018).

The Hon'ble Minister is holding one of the most important charges in the Union Cabinet. He directly deals with the issues of energy security and building of energy infrastructure. The seminar will benefit immensely from the Minster’s insights into the government’s policies on building connectivity in India’s neighborhood and the extended neighborhood.

Friends, it is widely recognised that building connectivity is central regional prosperity and growth. South Asia used to be a well-integrated region. Unfortunately, during the colonial times the connectivity between different parts of South Asia was interrupted as the divide and rule policy of the colonial masters intensified. This has been one of the main reasons why South Asia remained backward and has had tardy growth. Fortunately, the situation is changing. It is now recognised universally that connectivity, in its widest sense, including railways, transport, roads, energy, power, shipping lines, digital connectivity, river linkages and people to people to people connectivity needs to be built urgently. In this conference we will assess the current status of India’s connectivity with its neighbours. We will also focus on the task that lies ahead to improve connectivity, particularly in the context of SAARC, BIMSTEC and BBIN frameworks. Prime Minister Modi is an ardent champion of building connectivity between India and other countries, particularly in the neighborhood. He has said many times said that connectivity is priority for India's development.

India has three broad policies addressing the theme of connectivity – domestic policy with a focus on the north-east and frontier areas, the Act East Policy and, and the Neighbourhood First Policy. Prime Minster’s motto - Security and Growth for All – SAGAR includes maritime connectivity. The Government has launched schemes like Sagarmala which would transform the connectivity between coastal India and the hinterland. International cooperation is a strong component of India’s over all approach to connectivity. The Government is laying greater emphasis on the early completion of various connectivity projects which link India with Southeast Asia as well as projects like the Chabahar Port construction, the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) which would link India with Central Asia, Afghanistan and CIS countries. India is also a part of the Ashkhabad Agreement as well as the TIR – the Convention of International Transport of Goods. These measures will facilitate connectivity projects. In addition to terrestrial physical infrastructure development through roadways, railroads, transit/economic corridors et cetera India is giving equal weightage to areas like digital connectivity and maritime connectivity.

Friends, building connectivity is a daunting task. First, there has to be political will amongst the various nations. Secondly, connectivity projects should not lead to more tensions, as can happen if there is not enough consultation among partners, if the projects are not designed in an efficient way, if they're not implemented in open and transparent ways. The projects should be in the interest of the people. Funding of connectivity projects is a huge challenge. The return on the connectivity projects is often uncertain and can lead to problems. The role of private-public partnership cannot be overstated. Using the latest and modern technologies is also important. Project management skills or of utmost importance.

The conference will be addressing many of these issues. In the session ahead, we will be discussing land, rivers and oceanic connectivity as well as energy connectivity. We are honoured that some of the leading experts in these areas are taking part in the Seminar. At the end of the Seminar we hope to come up with some actionable points which would be useful for the various stakeholders.

I once again thank all of you for participating in the seminar. I request the Hon’ble Minister to deliver his inaugural address.

Thank you very much.