Assam is springboard of Act East Policy, says Jaishankar
Minister asserts all-round development of state central to success of policy
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Monday said that Assam is the springboard of India's Act East Policy which aims at to create connectivity that will make the state more energetic, contributing and employed.
Asserting that all-round development of Assam is central to the success of the policy the minister told reporters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is deeply committed to the development of Assam, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided projects in the state are examples of how international policies and partnerships can contribute to the development of states.
The external affairs minister, accompanied by Japanese Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki, was here to review JICAassisted projects in Assam.
Mr Jaishankar who also addressed an event said, “The Act East Policy is an approach to create connectivity to and within Assam, beyond to the Northeast then to neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh but eventually push all the way by road, sea, air to Vietnam to Japan. In doing so, we must appreciate that this will not only service greater economic activity but as demonstrated in other parts of the world, actually be a driver of it. A more connected Assam will be a more energetic Assam, a more contributing Assam and a more employed Assam.”
He, however, reiterated that in order to bring in more investments to the region and to make the
Act East Policy a success, there was a need to create an enabling environment by ensuring better connectivity.
Asked about the impact of political developments in neighbouring Myanmar, which is an important component of the Act East Policy, he said, “These are early days and hopefully development projects will not be affected”.
The minister highlighted that Assam has long been the fulcrum of the north-east region, but as cooperation and connectivity expands beyond national politics, this potential can actually make it the centre of a hub that covers neighbours like Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan.