New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, on Friday, met chief ministers of most of the north-eastern states at a meeting on Friday that focused on connectivity issues within the region and links between the region and south-east Asia. The chief ministers of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, and the Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh attended the meeting. The chief ministers of Sikkim and Mizoram did not attend the meeting but government sources said both states were represented by other representatives. Sources said the chief ministers of Sikkim and Mizoram could not attend because of “certain reasons”. Incidentally, Mizoram is currently the only Congress-ruled state in the region. In a statement, the MEA said, “The meeting deliberated on the North Eastern region’s intra-regional and sub-regional surface and air linkages, focusing on seamless connectivity with its contiguous neighbourhood. Continued development of relevant infrastructure both within the state and at international borders was also discussed with a view to enhancing trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people ties.”
The MEA added, “This meeting followed up on an earlier meeting chaired by EAM with the Governors of the North Eastern States in November 2017. EAM stated that state governments of the Northeastern region were active stakeholders in India’s Act East Policy. Greater connectivity and economic integration of India’s North East with its eastern neighbours was considered a key focus area for growth and development of the region. India’s Act East Policy had received a major boost following the ASEAN-India commemorative Summit.”
On the participants at the meeting, the MEA said, “Smt. Sushma Swaraj, minister for external affairs chaired an interactive session with chief ministers of north-eastern states on India’s Act East Policy in New Delhi on 4 May 2018. Dr. Rajiv Kumar, vice-chairman, Niti Aayog; Sarbananda Sonowal, chief minister of Assam; N. Biren Singh, chief minister of Manipur; Conrad Sangma, chief minister of Meghalaya; Neiphiu Rio, chief minister of Nagaland; Biplab Kumar Deb, chief minister of Tripura and Chowna Mein, deputy chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh and Gen. (Dr.) V. K. Singh (Retd.), minister of state for external affairs participated in this meeting.”
