India's Trade With Countries Under Govt's 'Neighbourhood First' Policy Soars To $41.6 Billion, Pakistan Lags Behind

India's bilateral trade with countries under its Neighbourhood First policy has increased to $41.6 billion in the financial year 2021-22, the Parliament was told on Friday (10 Februayr).

India’s Neighbourhood First policy continues to guide its approach towards the management of relations with countries in its immediate neighbourhood -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The Neighbourhood First policy, among other things, is aimed at enhancing physical, digital and people to people connectivity across the region, as well as augmenting trade and commerce, he added.

"The bilateral trade of India with countries under the Neighborhood First Policy has increased from about $27.9 billion in 2017-18 to about $41.6 billion in 2021-22," the minister informed.

India's trade with its neighboring countries has been mostly positive and has shown an upward trend over the past five financial years, with Bangladesh and Nepal showing the highest trade figures.

In financial year 2021-22, India's trade with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan was $18.13 billion and $11.02 billion respectively, according to the Department of Commerce data.

Meanwhile, India's trade partnerships with Sri Lanka and Bhutan amounted to $6.81 billion and $1.43 billion respectively.

During this period, India's trade with Sri Lanka saw a growth as compared to the previous year while its trade with Bhutan remained consistent with a steady growth trend over the past five financial years.

However, there has been a decline in trade with Pakistan in the recent years with only $520 million worth bilateral trade between the two countries in FY22, which was even lower than India's bilateral trade with Maldives ($740 million).

Meanwhile, India's trade with Afghanistan ($1.07 billion) and Myanmar ($1.89 billion) in FY22 has remained relatively stable compared to previous years.