US for alternative to China`s `OBOR` |
Visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has suggested that the US and India partner to build road connectivity in the sub-continent and port connectivity in the Indo-Pacific, as a sort of alternative to the Chinese One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative. Secretary Tillerson shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India`s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and national security advisor Ajit Doval his detailed assessment of the countries — Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar and Iraq — that he had visited during his current trip. He also communicated that he had given a strong message to Pakistan that safe havens for terrorists and terror groups must be eradicated. However, the key point of Tillerson engagement was that the two biggest democracies in the world should join hands in providing a rule based and transparent funding alternative to the OBOR in the region. In this context, Tillerson pushed for road connectivity in Bangladesh and Afghanistan so that even Pakistan is inclined to participate in the move. One Belt, One Road is a Chinese initiative to build a “Silk Road” of ports, railways and roads linking Asia, Africa and Europe. India`s primary opposition to OBOR is that one of its key legs runs through the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
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