New mood in neighbourhood

The group of tiny islands in the Indian Ocean known as the Maldives is about to round off a remarkable burst of neighbourhood diplomacy by the Manmohan Singh government. In the last few weeks, agreements with breakthrough potential have been signed with Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Maldives will now join that list. Even Pakistan could figure, if that wayward country decides finally to give India “most favoured nation” status for trade. There have been hiccups, of course. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee caused one on the sharing of Teesta waters with Bangladesh. Still, the neighbourhood love-fest, if it can be called that, could turn out to be a more substantial diplomatic achievement than the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement of 2008.

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