Under its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, India has extended a total of 37 Lines of Credit worth USD 14.27 billion covering 162 projects in five countries in the neighbourhood, including Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka since 2017.
Another 222 Lines of Credit worth USD 14.07 billion covering 357 projects have been extended to 42 countries in Africa. These projects cover varied sectors like roads, railways, power, ports and shipping, telecom, health, education and aviation.
This was stated by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan while replying to a question on ‘development projects in foreign countries’ in Lok Sabha on Friday.
Under the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, development cooperation is an important component of India’s engagement with neighbouring countries. While undertaking these projects, Indian expertise is showcased in project planning and implementation in a wide range of areas covering both infrastructure development as well as socio-economic development.
Development assistance to neighbouring countries – carried out mainly through Lines of Credit, Grant-in-aid and capacity building programmes – is extended by the government of India under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) through the Exim Bank of India.
Grant-in-aid projects are also being executed in India’s partner countries in the neighbourhood – including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka – in areas such as railway links, roads and bridges, waterways, border-related infrastructure, capacity building, healthcare, agriculture and community development.
The minister informed that selection of Indian Implementing Agencies for projects under Lines of Credit is done in accordance with the Cabinet-approved IDEAS guidelines issued by Ministry of Finance on 31st March, 2022.