Guwahati, February 11: The 3rd Distinguished Lecture of the ASEAN Studies Center (ASC) funded by the Ministry of External Affairs was delivered by Shri Ram Muivah, Secretary, North Eastern Council at the Guwahati University on 10th February 2017.
The ASC located at the Indian Council of Social Science Research-North Eastern Regional Centre Campus, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong was inaugurated by Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs on 8th August 2016. The Department of Sociology, Gauhati University organised the Distinguished Lecture in collaboration with the ASC.
The Distinguished lecture was preceded by a Documentary Film titled, “This is Asia’s Time” which explored India’s trading and cultural ties with the South-East Asian countries. The event was attended by the faculty members, research scholars and students across disciplines from the University.
In the programme chaired by Prof. Monirul Hussain, Prof. M P Bezbaruah delivered the inaugural address in which he pointed out that though India’s North-Eastern has contributed very little in India’s Act East policy despite its potentials, it could not be more apt for India to Act East through the North-East as India’s most important neighbours namely Bangladesh and Myanmar are looking to India for economic integration.
Mr Ram Muivah’s distinguished lecture titled, “India’s Act East and the North Eastern Council”, elucidated the importance of north-eastern states in India’s Act East Policy. He succinctly presented his lecture on three broad themes of Connectivity, Commerce and Culture. With regard to connectivity Shri Muivah stressed upon the 186 kms missing link from the Indian side of the border which would otherwise connect the north east of India to Myanmar, Thailand and the rest of the ASEAN countries.
He also stressed upon the need for more land custom stations in the north-eastern states to facilitate trade with Myanmar, Bangladesh and China. The public sector should play an important role in the infrastructural development in the region to lay fertile grounds for the private sector to invest in the region. In this regard he also stressed on the North Eastern Council’s role in facilitating infrastructural development projects in the region.
Apart from road and railway connectivity Shri Muivah also touched upon how Gauhati should be the hub of air connectivity with the South-East Asian countries. Shri Muivah also mentioned about how commerce can only thrive in a region where the infrastructure is in place, which unfortunately the north-eastern region lags behind the rest of the country because of its geographical location. It is in this area that the North-Eastern Council is focused on working and he briefly mentioned the highway and road development projects of the NEC.
To facilitate trade between India and Myanmar which has the potential to grow exponentially both the countries should join hands and decide on the currency of exchange of trade so as to benefit the traders from both the countries, apart from setting up banks and more land custom stations in the border states of north-east India.
Shri Muivah also spoke on the cultural connect that India shares with its South-East Asian neighbours stressing on the potential for growth of tourism industry in the region. Citing the example of an event to promote Indian culture and tourism which took place in Nepal named “Namaste Nepal” which was well received by the people of Nepal, Shri Muivah spoke on the importance of promoting the tourism industry in the region. An important start could be a tour package for the north-eastern region which the NEC is looking to partner with the private sector to promote tourism in the region.
Mr Muivah ended his speech with a firm note that the people of the north-east should reap the dividend out of India’s Act East Policy, which can only happen when the infrastructural issues are in place in the region. Prof. Monirul Hussain in his remarks congratulated Shri Muivah on his erudite speech and also endorsed his views while adding that the people of the north-east should come together to reap the benefits of India’s Act East Policy.
