Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 20 2010:
The All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) has raised strong reservations over the failure of the State Government to give the opportunity to the visiting ASEAN Ambassadors to interact with intellectuals, senior citizens, economists, businessmen and public leaders of the State.
Speaking to media persons at their Kwakeithel office this evening, advisor and former president of AMUCO Ito Tongbram said that visits to and from the South East Asian Nations at the levels of heads of State, Ministers, service chiefs and business leaders gave a major thrust to the Government of India's Look East Policy.
Saying that AMUCO welcomes and respects the visiting ASEAN diplomats, Ito lamented the non-availability of any opportunity to the people of Manipur to interact with the foreign Ambassadors.
On behalf of the people of Manipur, AMUCO urged for completion of infrastructure projects such as international airport, rail and road construction.
Citing the ongoing project for construction of a trilateral highway from Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand to Bagan in Myanmar, Ito said that the people of Manipur would not like to shift this highway terminal from Moreh to any other part of North East India.
"We would like to present this point to the visiting ASEAN diplomats", the AMUCO advisor said.
BIMSTEC has identified six sectors of focused operation for multi-lateral cooperation.
"AMUCO is confident that the crisis of food and energy shortage in Manipur can be addressed through the multi-national forum of BIMSTEC", he exuded.
Stating that India and Thailand signed a bilateral agreement including some memorandums of understanding on October 2003 for cooperation in tourism, agriculture and bio-technology sectors, the AMUCO advisor highlighted the contradictions of limited in-flow of tourists in Manipur despite its vast potential in tourism sector.
AMUCO would also like inclusion of sports and cultural exchange programmes in the framework of bilateral agreement between India and ASEAN countries.
Ito further expressed AMUCO's desire to incorporate a provision of allowing young people of Manipur to do research works in ASEAN countries and reciprocal arrangement of allowing students from these countries to study in the universities of Manipur.
"But we have not been given any opportunity to highlight these concerns of the people.
The Government's motive of keeping the visiting foreign diplomats aloof from the people is highly questionable", he added.