SHILLONG: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Sunday mooted the idea of joint investment in a “comprehensive multi-mode transport” to promote trade and business between the two countries.
Speaking as a special guest at the inaugural session of the Bangladesh Investment & Policy Summit 2016 in Dhaka, the chief minister mooted the idea considering that Meghalaya shares 443 km long border with Bangladesh, with the Brahmaputra and other rivers connecting both the sides along with the presence of a number of land customs stations to facilitate smooth supply of raw materials to support the numerous industries in Bangladesh.
Referring to a CNN report that Bangladesh’s economy was growing at the rate of over 6% in the last seven years and is projected to grow second fastest among the 11 developing countries, the chief minister said the positive growth story happening in Bangladesh would certainly generate hope and positivity in the North Eastern part of India too.
Making a mention about the efforts made by the chief ministers of the North Eastern states to impress upon the Government of India to re-strategize the trade and business relations with Bangladesh for the mutual benefit of both sides, Sangma expressed satisfaction that several bilateral initiatives have been taken up in this direction.
He also informed how the new National Highway 127B which would connect north Bengal with the western part of Meghalaya across the Brahmaputra with a 17 km long bridge is expected to serve as a “trade corridor between Bhutan, Nepal, North East India and Bangladesh”.
The chief minister also highlighted about the strength of renewable natural resources in the State that would provide immense opportunities to improve the economies on both sides. With the breakthrough of science, many unexplored renewable resources like Ramie (one of the strongest strong natural fibre indigenous to the region) can be harnessed by creating greater value for these natural resources.
He also mentioned that the State government with the support of the Union government is actively working on a strategy to mitigate the climate change adaptation related problems and highlighted about the various missions – Aquaculture, Apiculture and Horticulture – initiated by the Meghalaya government that would not only create livelihood opportunities to the people but also help the State to keep its sustainable ecology.
With increased bilateral relations between both the countries, Sangma felt the need for utilizing the proximity of sea route via Bangladesh to promote the trade and business in North East India. He also offered all possible policy support for the investments in the power sector too.
The chief minister also spoke of the possibility of using the Sylhet International Airport for promotion of tourism in Meghalaya and also the possibility of using this facility to promote exports of the high-value flowers and horticulture products from Meghalaya.
He was accompanied by a delegation consisting of MIDC Chairperson Martin Danggo, MTDC Chairperson David Nongrum, Principal Secretary, Commerce & Industries, Peter Ingty, Commissioner & Secretary to the Chief Minister, P. Sampath Kumar, and officials representing Industries, Tourism, Agriculture, Horticulture and Power departments.
