Connecting Mekong region with India through infrastructure linkages

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: Mekong countries have undertaken programmes to strengthen their economic linkages with India while fostering peace, facilitating sustainable growth, and improving living standards in the process. In particular, the Mekong region is working towards improving connectivity through strengthening linkages in transport, energy and telecommunication.

The Mekong region comprising Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam cover an area of enormous wealth and natural resources. Their vision is to create a more integrated, prosperous and equitable region, complementing national efforts to promote economic growth and reduce poverty, and augmenting domestic development opportunities to create regional opportunities.

The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established in 2000 at Vientiane at the government level. It comprises six member-countries namely, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam and India. The emphases are on four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education and transportation linkage in order to be the solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region.

MGC provides special focus on overland connectivity. Under the MGC, there is a proposal to set-up a railway line from Delhi to Hanoi, for which RITES Ltd, a government of India undertaking that offers consultancy in the fields of transport, infrastructure and related technologies—has already completed a preliminary study in 2006. Opening of the second ‘Friendship Bridge’ connecting the town of Savannakhet in Lao PDR with Mukdahan in Thailand has made it possible to travel by road from anywhere in India right up to Danang in Vietnam through Mekong’s East-West Economic Corridor. India has already proposed to extend BIMSTEC highway (India–Myanmar–Thailand trilateral highway) to Lao PDR and Cambodia.

India offers 10 scholarships every year to MGC member countries in culture-related subjects, such as ancient history of MGC countries and Buddhism, Sanskrit, Pali, dance, preservation of manuscripts, archaeology, handicrafts and museology.

India continues its support for the MGC initiative. With the help of India’s Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), the India–Cambodia and India–Vietnam Entrepreneurship Development Centres became operational recently. The India–Lao Centre has been operational since November 2004. EDI has done a splendid job in fostering the India–Mekong cooperation. In Mekong, India’s economic relationship with Vietnam is taking a new shape. The last three-and-a-half decades saw the development of a strong, multifaceted and fruitful development of bilateral relations between India and Vietnam. India has been assisting Vietnam in education, training, science and technology, and many other fields for a long time.