India's new Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla is set to visit neighbouring South Asian nations to strengthen the country's 'Neighbourhood First' policy. He will be visiting Bhutan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the near future, according to a report published in The Economic Times.

Last week he met with the envoys of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Apart from this a meeting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) on the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) was held with goal of early conclusion of the MVA for effective sub-regional connectivity that feeds into Delhi’s Indo-Pacific vision.

Shringla plans to explore new areas of development cooperation beyond traditional areas of partnership. In Bangladesh Shringla will seek to give momentum to cross-border ties ahead of PMs visit on March 17, the report says.

Shringla, a former High Commissioner to Bangladesh before he became ambassador to the US, will try to dispel controversies around the passage of Citizenship Ammendment Act as the Ministry of External Affairs plans to intensify efforts to maintain the momentum of India-Bangladesh partnership built over the past few years.
 
During his meeting with the High Commissioner of Bangladesh, he had conveyed that India was looking forward to jointly commemorate the Mujib Barsho commencing on March 17 and also the 50th anniversary of the 'liberation' of Bangladesh and the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2021.

His visit to Afghanistan will be critical to review ground situation amid US-Taliban peace talks and speculations about about troop withdrawal by the US.

The report says that Shringla also plans to visit Myanmar and Nepal in the coming months as part of the Neighbourhood First policy. India will be hosting the Myanmar President later this month to maintain outreach amid China’s repoprted moves for a China Myanmar Economic Corridor. This visit is also important  as it comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Myanmar.

He also met Nilamber Acharya, Ambassador of Nepal to India and former High Commissioner of Maldives, Aishath Mohamed Didi who is now Minister of Gender, Family and Social Services in Maldives, the paper said.