US for alternative to China’s OBOR, with India as partner
NEWDELHI: Visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillers on on Wednesday suggested that the US and India partner to build road connectivity in the sub-continent and port connectivity in the In doPacific, as a sort of alternative to the Chinese One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative .
Tillerson shared with Prime Minister Narendra Mo di, external affairs minister Sushm aS waraj and national security advisor Aji tD oval his detailed assessment of the countries—Afghanist an, 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. He had a twohour meeting with Do val, a working thali lunch for 90 minutes with S war aj and a 30- minute conversation with PM Mo di.
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, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified.
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 OB OR is that one of its key legs runs through the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
According to an Indian diplo- mat who asked not to be identified, Tillerson also pitched for increased cooperation between the two countries in the Indo-Pacific region so as to uphold rulebased rights of navigation and overflight in the area.