Stepping Up Neighborly Relations.docVIP

Stepping Up Neighborly Relations 　　It has been two years since Narendra Modi was sworn in as prime minister of India and subsequently formed a government of a strength rarely seen in India over the past several decades. Great expectations settled on this new administration， and people around the world wondered which direction the populous， emerging nation would take under Modi’s leadership. 　　Modi has been busily engaged in diplomatic efforts， the frequency of which peaked in 2015. Last year， he visited 28 countries and welcomed state leaders from 12 countries， including the United States， Germany， Sri Lanka， Afghanistan and Bhutan. 　　Overall， Modi’s foreign policy can be seen as concurrently acting east and linking west， attaching equal importance to both major powers and neighboring states. 　　 A new strategy 　　To shape ties with the Asia-Pacific region， the Indian Government adopted a policy of Look East in the 1990s， from when the policy has undergone two phases， each with a different focus. 　　Initially， the policy focused mainly on expanding India’s economy with capital， markets， and technologies from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN）， in an effort to offset loss of support from the former Soviet Union following its dissolution in 1991. 　　Subsequently， the policy was enriched and expanded. It evolved from purely economic cooperation to strategic cooperation involving military and geopolitical as well as economic affairs. The cooperation also grew to include not just ASEAN member states， but countries from the entire Asia-Pacific region， such as Mongolia and South Korea. 　　Since coming to power， Modi has invested particular effort in the Asia-Pacific region， officially upgrading the previous administration’s Look East policy to a strategy of Act East. A series of proactive diplomatic efforts has been undertaken accordingly. 　　In May 2015， Modi paid a state visit to Mongolia， during which the two governments announced the establishmen