GUWAHATI, July 9 - Governor Jagdish Mukhi today observed that the North Eastern Council (NEC) should look for ways and means to develop connectivity of the region with rest of the country and other ASEAN and BBN countries through airways and waterways, besides roadways.
Speaking at the 67th plenary of the NEC in Shillong, he called upon the DoNER Ministry to prepare an action plan for positioning the Northeast as the springboard for India�s Act East Policy. He said developing trade, transport and economic links with Bangladesh is very important for most of the states of the region and the issue needs greater focus.
Stating that Assam is geostrategically located in the Northeast and Guwahati being the gateway to the region, Mukhi said the DoNER Ministry should conceive a project to make Guwahati the Kunming of India. It would stimulate the growth of other northeastern states making the region vibrant, thus taking the nation�s Act East Policy to its logical conclusion, he said.
He also requested the DoNER Ministry to impress upon the ministries of Home and External Affairs to initiate talks with their counterparts of ASEAN countries to set up their consulates in Guwahati to enable the people of the Northeast to get their work done here itself without going to New Delhi.
Mukhi also called upon the NEC to come up with appropriate schemes to promote investment in suitable sectors to create jobs for youths of the Northeast. He also requested the NEC to take pragmatic steps for upgrading the skill of farmers to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s mission of doubling farmers� income by 2022.
