Guwahati: The land-locked Northeastern region of India stands to gain substantially from higher level of trans-boundary cooperation especially in tourism, agriculture and allied sectors.
This has been affirmed in a recent research study undertaken by Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) , an -international policy think tank.
CUTS undertook a study on trans-boundary cooperation on food, water and energy under project titled Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio (SDIP), supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Government of Australia.
Research on trans-boundary production networks and value chains suggest that there are ample opportunities to build such networks for food products, plastic products, readymade garments, cement, electronics, etc. between North East Indian states and neighbouring countries. This potential dovetails perfectly with the proposed focus on agri-horticulture sector and greater connectivity by the new government in Assam.
Prithviraj Nath, Policy Analyst and Head, CUTS Calcutta Resource Centre, said that developing the agri-horticulture sector and related processing industries in the MSME sector and integrating it to regional value chains will help generate employment and opportunities in the coming days for the youth of the Assam. He added that such a move will also help to generate export earnings for the state.
“Thus, in the Northeastern context, promoting trans-boundary value chains and connectivity can bring immediate gains for its people and hence it is crucial to push for a more robust trans-boundary cooperation and connectivity regime, in particular between North Eastern India and Eastern South Asia,” he said.
“India’s shift from “Look East” to “Act East” is one of the most important policy shifts in the recent times that contributed towards this positive impetus to sub-regional integration agenda. Under the present union government, cooperation with neighbouring countries has been a highlight with many mutually benefitting agreements being signed between India and its neighbours, both at the bilateral and regional level,” he pointed out.
He informed that 22 agreements, MoUs and protocols were signed during Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Dhaka in June last year. Another crucial development towards greater connectivity and access for the North East region has been the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) that was signed last year amongst the four nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal.
This agreement has seen a lot of political push and can indeed be a game changer for the economic development of India’s North East. The proposed BBIN transport corridors crisscross through the North Eastern states including Assam and are expected to benefit the region by enabling access to alternate and much shorter land routes to the rest of India through Bangladesh, access to the sea ports of Mongla and Chittagong, access to bigger and better markets from across the sub-region and also developing the tourism potential of the naturally beautiful and culturally rich North Eastern region.
