Introduction

South Asia and the broader Indian Ocean Region stand at a critical juncture, navigating complex challenges such as economic fragmentation, geopolitical rivalries, and escalating non-traditional security threats, including climate change and maritime piracy. Amid these dynamics, India’s strategic frameworks—SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region, launched in 2015) and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions, introduced in 2025)—offer a transformative vision for regional integration. These policies, complemented by India’s Neighbourhood First approach, seek to foster a cooperative ecosystem that transcends traditional regional boundaries, extending beyond the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

By encompassing South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the African continent, both SAGAR and MAHASAGAR aim to align policies across this extended region, promoting economic prosperity through enhanced trade and strategic stability through cooperative security frameworks. The conference titled “SAGAR to MAHASAGAR: Strategic and Development Partnerships,” scheduled for 24-25 February 2026, hosted by MP-IDSA will convene leading scholars, analysts, and experts from SAARC countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka), Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles, ASEAN, and African IOR partners to explore how a converging vision can drive greater integration at economic and strategic levels, ensuring a secure and prosperous region.

India’s SAGAR policy, articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, reimagined the IOR as a shared space for collective security and economic growth. It emphasized maritime domain awareness, anti-piracy measures, and capacity-building initiatives, such as India’s support for coastal surveillance systems in Maldives and Seychelles. SAGAR’s success is evident in projects like the SAGARMALA initiative, which has enhanced port infrastructure, and India’s role as a first responder in crises, such as providing humanitarian aid during Cyclone Chido in 2024. However, SAGAR’s scope was primarily regional, focusing on South Asia and proximate IOR states. Recognizing the interconnectedness of global maritime and economic systems, PM Modi articulated India’s vision of MAHASAGAR in 2025, creating fresh scope for fostering cross-regional collaboration.

MAHASAGAR builds on SAGAR by integrating South Asia with Southeast Asia and African countries, as part of an extended neighbourhood, promoting mutual advancement through white shipping agreements, joint maritime exercises, and blue economy initiatives. For instance, India’s partnerships with Mauritius and Seychelles under MAHASAGAR would strengthen Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) security, while deeper engagements with ASEAN nations via the Act East Policy would boost connectivity projects such as the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. The African continent, home to a large part of the Global South, is a key fulcrum of the expanded MAHASAGAR vision.

The shift from SAGAR to MAHASAGAR reflects India’s ambition to overcome the limitations of existing regional frameworks like SAARC and BIMSTEC. SAARC, established in 1985, has been hamstrung by Pakistan’s recalcitrance, stalling progress on intra-regional trade, which remains a mere 5% of South Asia’s total trade, compared to ASEAN’s 25%. BIMSTEC, while more dynamic, is constrained by its focus on Bay of Bengal states and slow implementation of connectivity projects. MAHASAGAR transcends these boundaries by fostering a broader Global South coalition, inviting countries like Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles and other African countries to align their economic and security policies with India’s vision.

This approach offers opportunities for smaller states to participate in high-value trade networks and non-traditional security frameworks, countering the dominance of external powers like China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For example, India’s free trade agreements with Sri Lanka and Bhutan, combined with BIMSTEC’s 2024 Charter, provide models for expanding trade linkages to Southeast Asia and African states, potentially increasing regional trade flows.

On the economic front, MAHASAGAR seeks to integrate South Asia’s 1.9 billion-strong market with Southeast Asia’s dynamic economies and Africa’s resource-rich states in India’s extended neighbourhood. Projects like the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and Chabahar Port development demonstrate India’s commitment to reducing trade barriers and enhancing connectivity. In a parallel effort, India is considering another connectivity project linking Kolkata to Sittwe and thence via Paletwa and Kaletwa in Myanmar to Silchar and Shillong in North-East India. Strategically, MAHASAGAR strengthens maritime security through initiatives like the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), Colombo Security Conclave and Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and joint patrols, addressing threats such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, drugs and human trafficking and terrorism. By aligning policies across this extended region, MAHASAGAR could enable countries to coordinate policies on climate-resilient infrastructure, renewable energy, and disaster response, leveraging expertise for mutual benefit. For instance, India’s COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy and technical training under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program have built trust, paving the way for deeper strategic alignment.

The conference will explore how MAHASAGAR’s inclusive framework can bridge South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the extended neighbourhood, offering an alternative vision beyond binary choices, focussed on a human centric path to development. It will address institutional weaknesses in SAARC and BIMSTEC, proposing solutions to enhance economic cooperation and connectivity. By pooling together diverse expertise, the event aims to generate policy recommendations that empower countries in the extended region to align with a wider vision, fostering a cooperative framework that prioritizes mutual growth and progress in the extended neighbourhood.

Objectives

The conference seeks to achieve the following objectives:

1. Analyse India’s Strategic Frameworks: Evaluate how SAGAR, MAHASAGAR, and Neighbourhood First policies can enhance economic, security, and cultural integration in South Asia and the extended neighbourhood, building on initiatives like SAGARMALA, BIMSTEC, and IORA.
2. Address Geopolitical and Security Challenges: Assess strategies to counter non-traditional threats (terrorism, climate change, pandemics) and balance China’s BRI influence, boosting regional economic cooperation.
3. Strengthen Regional Institutions: Recommend reforms to revitalise SAARC, enhance BIMSTEC’s role, and bolster IONS, IORA, Colombo Security Conclave and IPOI overcoming institutional weaknesses and geopolitical divides.
4. Foster Cross-Regional Linkages: Explore MAHASAGAR’s potential to bridge South Asia with Southeast Asia and African countries, promoting Global South leadership through frameworks like BIMSTEC and India-Africa Forum Summit.
5. Identify Opportunities for Collaboration: Propose actionable mechanisms for intra-regional trade, maritime security, and cultural exchanges, leveraging India’s free trade agreements (e.g., with Sri Lanka, Bhutan) and connectivity projects (e.g., India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway).

Participants: Scholars and analysts from SAARC, Myanmar, Mauritius, Seychelles, ASEAN, and African countries, ensuring diverse perspectives without high-level political figures to maintain academic focus.

Format: Hybrid (in-person and virtual) to maximize global participation, reflecting post-COVID conference trends.

Expected Outcomes

The conference aims to produce:

1. Recommendations for countries in South Asia and the extended neighbourhood on trade agreements, maritime security frameworks, and cultural exchange programs.
2. Strengthen linkages among scholars in India’s extended neighbourhood, fostering collaborative research and policy advocacy.
3. Actionable Proposals: Strategies to enhance intra-regional trade, institutionalize disaster response, and counter geopolitical challenges, shared with regional organizations.
4. The conference papers will be published as a book

Relevance

South Asia’s strategic importance is underscored by its 1.9 billion population, growing economies, and its growing maritime significance. In this context, India’s SAGAR and MAHASAGAR policies, launched in 2015 and 2025 respectively, reflect a shift from unilateral to cooperative regionalism, addressing challenges like low trade, climate vulnerabilities, and China’s BRI. The conference seeks to bridge academic and policy discourses, offering solutions to integrate South Asia and the extended region while navigating geopolitical complexities.

This conference will serve as a platform to reimagine regional integration leveraging India’s regional strategic vision. By addressing economic, security, cultural, and institutional dimensions, the proposed conference seeks to generate insights and recommendations to strengthen South Asia’s role in the Global South, fostering resilience and cooperation in India’s extended neighbourhood.