India’s Regional Strategy for Economic Integration: Policy Lessons from the EU and Asean

Abstract

India’s foreign policy has shifted from post-independence non-alignment to a more pragmatic, economically driven, and regionally focused approach, especially after the 1991 economic reforms (Mukherjee & Malone, 2011). Despite its growing global influence, South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions, with India facing challenges such as weak institutions, low intra-regional trade, and inadequate connectivity. While initiatives like SAARC, BIMSTEC, BBIN, and the Act East Policy reflect India’s efforts to promote regional cooperation, progress has been limited compared to successful models like the EU and ASEAN. This paper examines how these regions achieved deeper economic integration and identifies lessons that can help India strengthen its institutional capacity, improve connectivity, harmonize regulations, build resilient regional value chains, and adopt more effective cooperation mechanisms. The study is relevant to India’s current strategic priorities ranging from supply-chain resilience to Indo-Pacific engagement and aims to provide policy recommendations for a more cohesive and forward-looking regional integration strategy.