The role of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Foreign Policy in reshaping Indo-Lanka ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a mega roadshow in Varanasi, a day before he filed his nomination papers

By Srimal Fernando and Mizly Nizar 

Shri Narendra Modi who led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to become India’s Prime Minister in 2014 was re-elected as the head of state in a landslide victory in May 2019 with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) bagging 353 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats. Neighbouring Sri Lanka too will face elections later this year to select its eighth executive President to head the nation.  

Looking back at the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka during the last five years, it is evident that the relationship has been on an upswing reflecting the growing ties between the two countries. A wide variety of reasons can be attributed to the integration of foreign policies between the two neighbouring South Asian nations. Because of the highly changing nature of the South Asian region, the key regional policy administered by Premier Modi on the onset was India’s Neighbourhood First Foreign Policy which had an important bearing in solidifying the neighbourly relationship between India and Sri Lanka. 

Of significant importance were the two visits to Sri Lanka by Premier Modi in 2015 and 2017, a turning point in bilateral relations that revitalised the close bonds that formerly existed between the two nations during the Bandaranaike era. 

Addressing Sri Lanka’s Parliament in what was the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister since 1987, Modi emphasised, “My vision of an ideal neighbourhood is one in which trade, investments, technology, ideas and people flow easily across borders.” It is thus possible to perceive that the Indian Premier’s visits to its close neighbour has helped build trust and friendship giving meaning to India’s Neighbourhood First Policy while winning the hearts and minds of the multicultural society living in Sri Lanka. 

A favourite travel destination 

Clearly the success of India’s Neighbourhood First Foreign Policy has readjusted not only diplomatic ties, but also has influenced the tourism and leisure sector. The strengthening in bonds attracted a large numbers of Indian tourists to visit their neighbouring paradise island. Sri Lanka is emerging as a favourite travel destination among tourists in India. In fact, India remains as the leading source country of all tourists coming to Sri Lanka and that number has almost doubled in a short span of four years. As many as 424,887 Indians visited Sri Lanka in 2018 – amounting to over 18% of tourist arrivals to the picturesque island nation – compared to 242,734 Indian tourist arrivals in 2014.  

Similarly indicating another very important aspect in the tourism industry, there has been an upsurge in Sri Lankans travelling to India. Tourists from Sri Lanka are among the top 10 sources for the Indian tourism market. The surge in people travelling between the two nations has boosted air connectivity. Catering to rising passenger demand, Sri Lankan air, the flagship air carrier of Sri Lanka, operates more than 126 flights weekly to 14 cities in India facilitating the flow of people across the two borders. 

In addition to the increased flow of people between India and Sri Lanka, bilateral trade too has grown rapidly in the past years with the development of economic and commercial partnerships between the two nations. It is worthwhile mentioning that the adoption of free trade policies such as the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) since 2000 has facilitated the growing flow of trade between the two nations thereby increasing the potential gains in a number of areas. India is Sri Lanka’s largest global trading partner. Sri Lanka in turn is India’s largest trade partner in SAARC. 

Looking back at bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka during the last five years, it is evident that the relationship has been on an upswing

Sri Lanka one of the largest trading partners of India in South Asia

According to Sri Lankan Customs, bilateral trade in 2017 amounted to $ 5.3 billion with Sri Lanka continuing to be one of the largest trading partners of India in South Asia. In addition, to enhance the flow of investments, technology and ideas India has stepped up development credit to Sri Lanka and has undertaken various development projects in the fields of housing, infrastructure, health and education among others. 

India with a booming economy of $ 2.5 trillion and impressive growth rate averaging 7.5% in the first three years of the Modi administration has made a total commitment of almost $ 3 billion to Sri Lanka out of which $ 560 million are in grants. In specifying the nature of the Indian aid factor to Sri Lanka, this robust program of assistance includes India’s flagship housing project to construct 50,000 housing units with an overall commitment of about $ 350 million in grants the $ 800 million credit line to support construction of the Northern Railway, credit of $ 167.4 million to rebuild the tsunami-damaged Southern railway line and Grant Assistance of $ 7.55 million for island wide Emergency Ambulance Service. 

On the realm of defence and maritime security, during the recent visit by Indian foreign secretary Sanjay Mitra to the island nation, the two countries have agreed to build and promote cooperation in the defence sector including regional security and training of Sri Lankan military personnel. Most significant in defence cooperation between India and Sri Lanka is the project for building two Offshore Patrol Vessels for Sri Lanka by India’s state-owned shipbuilder Goa Shipyard Ltd. (GSL). According to the Indian defence ministry, “The vessel will be the largest and most advanced ship in the Sri Lankan Navy fleet.” 

As envisioned by India’s Prime Minister, the two countries have been able to facilitate the flow of trade, investments, technology, ideas and people across their borders in their efforts to create an ideal neighbourhood. Specifying the nature of the close geographical proximity between India and Sri Lanka, one should take historical, political and economic factors into account in the formation of foreign policy. 

With elections in the offing, 2019 is a crucial year for both countries in framing their foreign policy agendas. India has just re-elected former Premier Modi who will continue with his administration’s Neighbourhood First Foreign Policy. As Sri Lanka heads for the polls to elect its head of state later this year, it is probably fair to say at this juncture that it is important for the country to continue to build on the ties that were renewed in the last five years irrespective of the leader or the political party that comes into power. 

With elections in the offing, 2019 is a crucial year for both countries in framing their foreign policy agendas. India has just re-elected former Premier Modi who will continue with his administration’s Neighbourhood First Foreign Policy. As Sri Lanka heads for the polls to elect its head of state later this year, it is probably fair to say at this juncture that it is important for the country to continue to build on the ties that were renewed in the last five years irrespective of the leader or the political party that comes into power

(Srimal Fernando is a Doctoral Fellow at Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), India and a Global Editor of Diplomatic Society for South Africa. He won the 2018/2019 Best Journalist of the year award in South Africa. Mizly Nizar is a foreign policy analyst and a former visiting lecturer at The Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies and the Open University of Sri Lanka.)