International Relations

KEY POINTS

Paradiplomacy

·        It is international relations conducted by sub-national on their own.

·        It outlines a foreign policy role for local and regional governments within a democratic federal system.

·        Economic Paradiplomacy related to trade and investment has become an institutionalized practice across the world.

Promoting Nation’s interest

Paradiplomacy –     

·        Reduces the burden on Union governments to attract investments for a large number of states

·        Gives sufficient time for central governments to focus on core issues

·        Huge inflow of investments and remittances will scale up the forex reserves

·        Promotes diverse interests of states to sustain, thus ensuring co-operative federalism

·        Improve People to people contacts thus nurturing exchange of cultural values.

Promoting States economy

Paradiplomacy –

·        Promotes foreign investments into the Indian states

·        Helps states to boost export and trade promotions in foreign countries by its own

·        Provide huge employment opportunities both in domestic as well as in abroad

·        Helps to consider regional specific issues such as drought, flood, earthquake etc.,

·        Promotes competitive federalism among the states, thus enhancing the quality of products.

·        Reflect state’s interest in a democratic manner

Suggestions

·        MEA has a States Division which keeps in touch with the states to build bridges with the countries in which they have a special interest.

·        But it is not making much difference in policy making.

·        A new structure should be established to replace the existing States Division in MEA in order to fully represent states.

·        Ministry of External affairs should have offices in key states.

Think tanks should be established in states to facilitate policy options and to provide inputs to the states and the centre