Читать книгу Economic corridors in Asia : paradigm of integration? A reflection for Latin America - Varios autores - Страница 37

MIEC germinated out of the concept of Mekong Ganga Economic Cooperation, an initiative which launched in 1997 to connect India through trade and cultural networks with its eastern seaboard. With India’s increasing economic clout and the desire to underplay the increasing Chinese dominance in the region, India worked out a start to engage these countries with the objective of sustaining the cultural and historical interaction with a complementary dose of trade and investment. The development of the Kaladaan Multi Modal Transport Project (a project with integration of riverine and highway transport) and the development of a trilateral highway were built on the premise that the two projects would enhance trade and investment between India’s northeast region and the countries of mainland Southeast Asia. However, the two projects took more than 15 years to get completed with parts of the two projects still in limbo. Mekong-India connectivity has been envisaged as a constituent of India’s obligations under the Asian Highway Network. Additionally, the possibility of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) sponsored Trans-Asian Railways might take shape in the near future once the Asian Highway is completed. MIEC would help in connecting India manufacturing with the ancillary industries in the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) region as well as those in Thailand. This corridor also fits into the Indo-Pacific corridor envisioned by the US government. Indo-Pacific construct works to the benefit of both India and these select countries as Indo-Pacific corridor connects the two regions - South and Southeast Asia together.