Governor PB Acharya stressed on developing and strengthening ties of the Northeast with ASEAN region through trade, culture, people-to-people contacts and physical infrastructure.
Addressing the North East Governors’ Conclave in the presence of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at New Delhi on November 23, Acharya said with right focus on development of connectivity, infrastructure and cooperation with the neighbouring countries Nagaland could become one of the trading/economic hubs connecting ASEAN countries.
On development and connectivity, Acharya said if the state had good road connectivity, increase in trade with neighbouring countries was possible. He felt that once the ongoing construction of a four-lane road between Kohima and Dimapur was complete, it would open up smooth connectivity for the State as well as the region. Opening new and reactivating dormant trade routes, as well as facilitating border trade and transit points, would not only boost ties between neighbouring countries, but also improve economic condition of the State, he said.
Acharya said youth of the State were in an advantageous position due to their English medium education. Youth with proper skill training with English base could be strong service providers to South East Asian countries, he added.
To promote ties with ASEAN countries, Acharya also suggested cultural exchange programmes with those countries. He said North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur could play a key role in this as nearly 5,000 performing artists teams were registered with NEZCC from all eight “NAMASTE” States (N-Nagaland, A-Arunachal Pradesh, M-Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, A-Assam, S-Sikkim, T-Tripura and E-East ).
Acharya felt that efforts should be made for setting up Special Economic Zones and said Nagaland needed to be developed as an export-hub that could link up with India’s neighbourhood in South and South East Asia. He said the State produced the best bamboo products at cheap prices due to availability of raw material as well as manpower, while floriculture had emerged as a major business option for unemployed youth and it them fetched good annual turnover from exports.
Acharya said educational and healthcare facilities in border areas were important to forge greater ties between India and ASEAN countries.
He suggested setting up schools and colleges in public-private partnership (PPP) mode in border areas to cater to people on both sides of the international divide. Nursing homes, orphanages, old age homes, skill training centres, etc, could also be established in border areas for betterment of people living in border areas, he suggested.
The meeting was attended by Governors of all the North-eastern States and covered various topics for forging greater ties between India and ASEAN countries under the Act East Policy.