Silent Diplomacy

He is neither an eloquent speaker nor a charismatic leader who can pull crowds. He speaks haltingly and is pretty measured in his replies. His answers are concise and to the point. The man avoids getting into the politics of things and is more comfortable explaining the outcome of his meetings along with their ramifications. His calm exterior belies his achievements. And in a matter of a few years, he has worked his way to the top - high on performance and low on rhetoric.

Foreign minister S Jaishankar is making all the right moves without the noise. The former IFS officer is the PM’s go to man handling one crisis after another with great elan. A polyglot who speaks Chinese, he gave them a taste of their own medicine without being offensive.

After Jaishankar’s visit to Bangladesh, our eastern neighbor has allowed India the use of Chittagong port as a transit point for cargo movement to the country's north eastern states. 70% of Bangladesh's trade happens through this port and earns good revenue as well.

Till date , the consignments would arrive at Kolkata from where it was sent to Agartala via Assam – a distance of 1600 km. By getting access to Chittagong and Mongla seaports, the distance is reduced to 450 km. After this development, an alternate route will connect the Northeast region with the rest of India. The connectivity will feed into the Bangladesh, Bhutan. Nepal and India construct with unlimited business potential.

Why this love for India all of a sudden?

Bangladesh is competing with Myanmar & the trilateral India-Myanmar-Thailand highway might spoil the party for Sheikh Hasina. That seems to be the reason!

Very few people know that the Indian government has been working on this connectivity from almost six years building roads and bridges without much fanfare. Once operational, North East will return to its pristine glory and will be the cynosure of all eyes.

Not just Jaishankar, the government too has to be congratulated for bringing the focus back on the North East which was in a state of neglect since independence. With the dragon effectively checkmated , the field is wide open for India.

Behind every successful nation, there is a foreign minister.

Photo credit - observerbd.com

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