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Minister of State for External Affairs (MEA) Pabitra Margherita on Thursday said Assam is central to India's Act East Policy and serves as the country's "strategic gateway to Southeast Asia", highlighting government initiatives to develop the State as a trade and connectivity gateway to the region.
Responding to an unstarred question by BJP MP Jogen Mohan in the Rajya Sabha, Margherita said India's North Eastern Region, including Assam, provides the "shortest overland connectivity to ASEAN" and is critical for promoting trade, transport, tourism, energy cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. He said the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment & Infrastructure Summit, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Guwahati in February 2025, centred on projecting Assam as India's "Expressway to ASEAN". A companion roadshow in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur showcased opportunities in the semiconductor ecosystem, logistics, cross-border trade, and tourism infrastructure, he said. Margherita said one of the major outcomes of the summit was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Assam government and Singapore on "Nursing Talent Skills Cooperation" to strengthen nursing skill development and facilitate employment opportunities. He also highlighted the first commercial export of GI-tagged Tezpur litchis to Singapore in June 2026 as an example of efforts to deepen Assam's "economic integration with ASEAN" under the Act East Policy. On infrastructure, the MoS said the government continues to accord "high priority" to the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and enhanced multi-modal connectivity under the 'Act East Policy.' "Lines of Credit (LoC) have been extended to the Government of Bangladesh, and various projects are being implemented to facilitate cross-border connectivity via Assam," Margherita said. The minister also noted that the Assam government had signed an MoU with Singapore in 2023 on urban planning to strengthen cooperation in urban planning and sustainable urban development in Guwahati. The response came to questions on new initiatives under the 'Act East Policy' benefiting Assam, whether the state was proposed to be developed as a trade gateway to Southeast Asia, and the major infrastructure projects being implemented. Earlier on August 8, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar extended greetings to the ASEAN member states on the 59th ASEAN Day, reaffirming India's commitment to deepening ties with the regional bloc through connectivity, trade, digital linkages, resilient supply chains, defence, education, and cultural exchanges. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Best wishes to our @ASEAN friends on the 59th ASEAN Day." He added that the ties guided by India's Act East Policy, the India-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, "continue to deepen" across key areas. He said, "Guided by our #ActEast Policy, our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership continues to deepen through connectivity, trade, digital linkages, resilient supply chains, defence, education and cultural exchanges." "Confident that India-ASEAN ties will continue to grow in substance and ambition, contributing to the peace, stability and prosperity of the wider Indo-Pacific region," he added. Earlier in July, Jaishankar co-chaired the 'ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with India 2026' in Manila, during which India and ASEAN discussed strengthening their partnership and cooperation across the Indo-Pacific. (ANI)
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