India’s” Look East” Policy: Its Evolution, objectives and Approaches

Abstract

The Look East policy has emerged as an important foreign policy initiative of India in the post-Cold War period. It was launched in 1991 by the then Narasimha Rao Government with the aim of developing political contacts, increasing economic integration and forging security cooperation with countries of Southeast Asia. The policy marked a shift in India’s perspective of the world, where the strategic and economic importance of Southeast Asia to India’s national interests is being recognized. In this paper the evolution and objectives of India’s “Look East” policy and its recent approaches also have been analyzed.