NE-ASEAN Business Summit kicks off Ambassadors add international flavour to summit
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 07 2016: A three-day North East-ASEAN Business Summit 2016 kicked off today at the City Convention Centre here.

The summit is being jointly organised by Commerce and Industries Department, Indian Chamber of Commerce and International Chamber for Service Industry.

Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker Th Lokeshwar, Commerce and Industries Minister Govindas Konthoujam, DoNER Secretary Naveen Verma, Meghalaya Chief Secretary KS Kropha and Manipur Chief Secretary O Nabakishore attended the inaugural session as presidium members.

Brunei High Commissioner, Ambassadors of Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam and around 140 Indian delegates from outside the North East region are participating in the summit.

Inaugural function of the NE-ASEAN Business Summit held on 7th April 2016 at the City Convention Center, Imphal :: Pix - DIPR

Speaking at the inaugural session, Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed remarked that the summit assumes greater significance for his country as India's North East region is their immediate neighbour.

He said that he was reminded of 1971 when he landed on the soil of India.

Tofail said that he took part in the Bangladesh war of liberation and visited several places of the North East region including Tripura.

Since then West Bengal and the North East region share an emotional attachment with Bangladesh.

Apart from giving refuge to around 10 million Bangladeshis within India, the Government of India imposes no duties on goods imported from Bangladesh with the exception of alcohol and tobacco products, stated the Bangladesh Minister.

An agreement which would pave way for closer connectivity among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) was signed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh.

Subsequent upon the agreement, the Government of Bangladesh opened a visa office at Guwahati and efforts are on to open another similar office at Agartala.

The Federation of the Chamber of Commerce of Bangladesh has signed agreements with its counterparts of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura and Bangladesh is keen to a similar relationship with Manipur too.

Tofail Ahmed then invited the Chief Minister, Commerce and Industry Minister Govindas Konthoujam and a trade delegation to Bangladesh.

Govindas Konthoujam pointed out that the North East region is located at the crossroads of three big economies of East Asia, South Asia and South East Asia.

The North East region can make rapid strides if the fast growing economy of India can be coupled with the economies of ASEAN, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Moreover, the region lies in close proximity to two biodiversity hotspots of the Himalayas and Myanmar.

The strategic location of the region can be exploited for economic development.

The region has rich potential in such sectors as agro-food processing, aromatic and medicinal plants.

At the same time, the region has many things to learn from the thriving textile and garment industries of Bangladesh.

Govindas then exuded confidence that the summit can pave a realistic path for translation of its primary objectives into action.

The three-days summit would also feature buyers-sellers meet and seminars on different topics.