Dimapur, June 16 (MExN): During an interactive session in Shillong today, the Minister for External Affairs, Pranab Mukerjee said that the Northeast region is the gateway to East and Southeast Asia. The minister while talking on ‘Look East Policy: Geography as an Opportunity’ claimed that the government of India was already involved in a variety of cross border development projects around transport and technology with Myanmar and was seeking to improve connectivity between Northeast state and Myanmar.
Mukherjee stated that due to the paradigm shift from state centralism to interdependence and global regional coorperation, the northeast region could become the bridge between the Indian economy and Southeast Asia, which is beyond doubt the fastest growing and dynamic region in the world. He declared that the northeast must be intergrated through cross border market access. “India is aware of the geo-economic potential of the NE Region as a getaway to East and South East Asia,” he declared.
He said that better incentives had been taken up to ensure better developed “transport systems with Bangladesh and export of raw material and agricultural produce to Bhutan.”
“Besides, modification in the North East Industrial Policy 1997 through the North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy 2007 will help to give a boost in investment in the NE Region by providing for higher incentives for industrial development and investment promotion,” the minister claimed.
The minister declared that one of the main aim of the ‘Look East Policy’ was to develop better ties with the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN). “Similarly, the sub-regional grouping called BIMSTEC, the SAARC etc., are all aimed at regional cooperation to meet this objective,” and the minister went on to add that “these organizations have identified all fields of education, trade and commerce, energy and food security etc. as areas of development.”
Based on the steps taken on the foreign policy and the domestic fronts, the Foreign Affairs minister was confident that “increased economic activity will lead to robust growth and the welfare of the local population.” He added this would require “simplification of border trade procedures and improving physical connectivity and action on these fronts, including cooperation with out neighbours.”
The interactive session was attended by the Governor of Meghalaya, B.L. Joshi who called for urgent regional cooperation with SE Asian countries in which the NE region can play a vital role through development of better infrastructure. The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr. D.D. Lapang, and senior officials of DoNER and NEC as well as the Ministry of External Affairs participated in the session.
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