Guwahati, Jun 9 (PTI): Ambassador of the European Union to India Herve Delphin on Tuesday asserted that Assam is not at the periphery of India’s geography, but the northeastern state is moving to the centre of its economy.
Addressing a press conference here on the second day of the European Union delegation’s high-level visit to the state, Delphin said that the EU has been engaging with and supporting the development of the northeast region, particularly Assam. “Assam is not at the periphery of India’s geography, but is moving to the centre of its economy,” he said. Delphin said what is distinct in Assam is the “resources that nature offers. The quality of the people… their talent, hospitality and the incredible leadership to develop the state, and it is this that makes Assam the go-to destination for European business”.
‘’At the core, we want to bring the EU-India ecosystem and economies closer, and the launch of ‘Blue Valley Cluster-Flavours, Fragrance and Ayush’ is a step towards this materialising at the state level,’’ he said. The delegation is on a two-day visit to Assam from Monday, and on the final day of its visit, Assam’s first ‘Blue Valley Cluster’ – a new industrial hub focused on fragrances, flavours, AYUSH and food processing, was launched.
The Blue Valley Cluster pilot project in Assam is expected to demonstrate a new model of sustainable industrial cooperation by connecting local biodiversity, innovation and enterprise with international value chains and market opportunities, officials said.
‘’Assam has incredible bio-diversity, medicinal and aromatic plants that can create value. This is the reason why European companies are coming here, and are ready to invest and develop this cluster,’’ the EU envoy said.
Delphin said it is not that ‘’we just come, invest and package… there is an integrated approach. We want to pull together research, innovation, skilling, investment, marketing and production’’.
European companies and investors look around the world ‘’in different geographies where there are opportunities, and it is evident that there are certain distinct advantages that Assam has”, he said.
The ‘Blue Valley Cluster-Flavours, Fragrance and Ayush’ is a USD 19 billion market in Europe, which is a ‘’leading geography for this sector and Assam is well-positioned to tap into this’’, the ambassador said.
The 4P (public-private-people-partnership) cluster will seek to connect Europe, Northeast India and Bhutan, promoting innovation, research, sustainable manufacturing and business collaborations.
The pilot project, led by the Assam government, is aligned with the ‘Blue Valleys’ initiative, which was introduced at the EU-India Summit held earlier this year.
Besides this project, other areas of interest for the EU are green energy and the emerging ecosystem of digital technology, with the delegation visiting the Jagiroad plant of Tata Electronics on Monday, Delphin said.
Delphin said he was honoured to be in Assam last year during the ‘Advantage Assam Summit 2.0’.
‘’We are putting the focus on the northeast and three years ago, there was a joint conference with the Indian ministry of external affairs in Shillong on the importance of connectivity,’’ he said.
