Venue: Room 005, IDSA
Chair: Ms. Smita Purushottam

Members of Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania visited the IDSA to engage in a discussion on a range of issues viz., neighbourhood relations, regional issues, regional organisations, trade, etc. This was the first Lithuanian parliamentary delegation to India. While calling the visit to India “historical”, the Deputy Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, Mr. Algis Kaseta rightly pointed out that “economic and cultural ties between the two countries become more meaningful when political and parliamentary ties are strengthened”.

The members of the delegation gave their perspective on Lithuania’s positive relations with its neighbours and on the regional issues relating to Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, etc. One of the issues of common interest to both India and Lithuania was Afghanistan—where the latter has stationed its special forces. Lithuania has contributed both financial and human resources and in the civilian sector it has a provincial construction team, while India has contributed to the development of Afghanistan. Ms. Purushottam reiterated that India believes in building institutions in the form of construction, health, transport, etc. Similarly Dr. Meena Singh Roy emphasised that apart from capacity building, Indian involvement is also in terms of imparting training to Afghan police and security forces though India does not have any military presence in Afghanistan. On a positive note, the delegates welcomed and urged India to have a presence in the Lithuanian economy. They urged that India should participate in the transport corridor, apart from other areas—IT and logistics. The Deputy Speaker urged that think tanks, including IDSA, should look into the prospects of increasing investment in the Baltics. The delegation was happy to list their approval for India’s bid for a permanent UNSC seat.

During the interactive session, IDSA experts on South Asia, South-East Asia and East Asia enlightened the delegates on India’s relations with its neighbours, on the recent developments within the Asian region, and how India positively contributes to regional security and stability. Mr. R.N. Das termed China as a challenge and not a threat to Indian foreign policy. Dr. Meena S. Roy emphasised that the Central Asian region is strategically important from the political point of view, though India has to increase its economic interaction. India continues to have multi-dimensional relations with the Central Asian region. Dr. Roy also said that India’s relations with Iran were also strategic in terms of being country-specific, its dependence on energy resources, and as a gateway to the Central Asian states.

Dr. Udai Bhanu Singh stressed that the move towards democracy by Myanmar was important as it was the only South-east Asian state to share borders with India. This gave a boost to India’s ‘look east’ policy. He also emphasised the point that India needed to pay the necessary attention to countries like Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Dr. Pankaj Jha discussed developments in other South-east Asian states like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc. and their relations with India. Dr. Nihar Nayak spoke on the national integration process and current the state of affairs in Nepal. These developments along with border security problems due to Maoist insurgency have considerable ramifications for India.

Giving an overview, Brig. (Retd.) Rumel Dahiya emphasised India’s responsible conduct of relations with its neighbours and emphasised the importance of granting the neighbours most favored nation status.

The interaction was insightful, with both the delegates and the experts from IDSA learning a lot about each other’s views on regional issues and relations.

Report prepared by Joyce Sabina Lobo, Research Assistant, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.