NE Connectivity Summit: Act East through Nagaland

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Sep. 22 (EMN): The fourth edition of the North East Connectivity Summit got underway today in Kohima at the NBCC Convention Centre. The event is an initiative of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry involving the eight states of the region- Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim- to bring them together to collectively share ideas of development and connectivity so as to connect with one another and beyond national and international borders. More than 300 delegates are attending the summit, including foreign delegates from Japan, Russia, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Chief Minister TR Zeliang in his address at the inaugural session of the two-day mega event this morning, highlighted the potentials and strengths of the region as well as the gaps and challenges it faces.

“While at this juncture it will be seen that our wants far outweigh what we collectively have to offer, it is an undeniable fact that the huge gap of requirements can only be filled with the pro-active and all out support and intervention of the government of India if our long cherished dream of transforming this region into a vibrant activity hub is to be achieved,” Zeliang stated.

Pointing out that the dreams of Look East Policy could have materialized 10 years ago had there been policy brainstorming summits such as this event, nevertheless, he expressed enthusiasm and hope that the ongoing summit will factor all the aspects and come up with tangible and actionable recommendations for the overall development of the region with special thrust on road, rail and air connectivity as part of the ‘Act East Policy’ of the government of India.

Zeliang said the Northeast region is endowed with rich forest and other natural resources such as gas, oil, coal, lime stones etc. He also mentioned that besides tea, the region has the potential to make India the largest exporter of coffee, cardamom, pepper and spices.

“With the right intervention, the region has the capacity of turning into a premier rice bowl of the country under Agri-allied sector,” the Chief Minister said. Another strong point, he said, was the region’s high literacy rate, which presents a vast reservoir of educated and dynamic work force, ‘progressive in outlook and IT savvy’.

Laying emphasis that India’s Act East Policy must aim to achieve better connectivity for the region, he maintained that the most practicable and convenient road and rail connectivity between India and South East Asian countries should run through Nagaland to Moreh border town via Imphal. To back his view, he reminded that the decisive and historic Battle of Kohima fought during the Second World War was for the control of the strategic Moreh-Imphal-Kohima-Dimapur route- the most vital route for the Japanese forces to enter the plains of India.

He pointed out that Nagaland alone shares around 215 km of international border and the eight NE states together share over 5300 km of border with five different countries, and that this provides the region with opportunity to transform their economies by developing connectivity with those countries.  Given the geographic position of the region, he said with the right focus on development of connectivity infrastructure and cooperation with the neighbouring countries, NE can easily become a major trading and economic hub connecting South East Asia and the ASEAN countries.

He stated that mega projects like the trans-Eurasian Highway and the Trans Asian Railway, which will pass through North Eastern areas, will connect the people of the region to the world and vice-versa. Zeliang also maintained that the markets of ASEAN countries can be accessed through Myanmar, and he batted for building physical connectivity linkages with Myanmar as well as people to people connectivity. “This is where, I believe that multilateral agencies have an important role to play, he added”. Towards this, he invited delegates from Japan and Russia to support the initiatives for better connectivity and economic resurgence and assured Nagaland government’s support.

“I am also particularly enthused by one of the proposals that FICCI has been advocating- the North East Ring Road. This road would run parallel to the international borders for about 4000 kms and connect all the North Eastern States. This is one proposal that the Government of India and the states of the region must consider with great seriousness,” Zeliang said.

Highlighting that the region is home to almost 60 percent of the country’s bamboo reserves, he opined that if scientifically exploited, it can give a boost to the economy of the region. He also pointed out that with good connectivity, Nagaland can produce the best bamboo products at much cheaper prices due to the availability of raw material as well as manpower.

The chief minister also highlighted the potential areas that Nagaland offers including tourism, its rich

biodiversity and natural resources. He informed the gathering of the JICA project (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) implemented by the Nagaland Forest Management Project for addressing  jhum cultivation, climate change mitigation, protection and expansion of community conserved forest areas as one of the largest foreign funded project in the state.

He urged upon the government of Japan who has expressed keen interest in the region for investments, to also fund the infrastructure road connectivity in the state with their modern technology as the NE is beset with poor soil stability and high incidence of monsoon rains.

With the presence of a large number of corporates from India and the neighbouring countries at the summit, Zeliang invited them to explore different investment opportunities in Nagaland.

Minister Economics, Embassy of Japan, Kenko Sone in his brief speech at the summit said NE India is located at a strategically and economically important juncture between India and Southeast Asia as well as within BIMSTEC countries (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. Therefore, he said, Japan has placed a particular importance on the cooperation in NE region ranginf from road connectivity, energy, water supply and sewage, forest resource management, biodiversity, to people to people exchange and post-war reconciliation projects.

“Japan would like to expand the cooperation further in the NER to reinforce the friendship among Japan, NER, India and the neighbouring countries so that each of us can enjoy their synergy created by improved connectivity,” he concluded.

North Eastern Council (NEC) secretary, Ram Muivah, in his special address, expressed concern over connectivity challenges in the region. He highlighted various important NEC funded road development projects in different parts of the region including Nagaland and voiced dismay at those where the works were being held up, advocating for expediting the process.

He made a mention of the ongoing construction of 4-lane road between Kohima and Dimapur and expressed excitement that once completed, it would open up seamless connectivity and an enormous opportunity for the state as well as the region. In this regard, he also suggested that a similar road should come up between Kohima and Imphal.

Muivah also reminded the authorities present about the proposed Greenfield Airports at Razhüphema and Itanagar and stressed the need to take up the projects expeditiously.

He felt that the region has missed the earlier green revolution as well as IT revolution, but that it should catch the bus for infrastructure revolution.