The Northeastern region in the last six years had made up for several lapses of the past because for the first time the region received equal attention at par with the other regions of the country, said DoNER minister Jitendra Singh in New Delhi on Monday .
“This had not only instilled confidence among the people but also raised the capacity to engage with other parts of India as well as the countries across the eastern borders, at different levels,” Singh while addressing the Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference” organised by ASSOCHAM in New Delhi.
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He said that the new paradigms will emerge post-COVID, with a potential for new breakthroughs in economy, trade, scientific research and several other diverse areas.
Dr Singh said the Indo-Bangladesh treaty for exchange of enclaves, which was accomplished under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had cleared the decks for ease of business, ease of movement and ease of commuting, which was earlier a tedious task.
“This should have been done four-and-half decades ago, right at the time of birth of Bangladesh, but was possibly not the priority of the earlier governments,” he added.
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Referring to traditionally friendly relations between the two countries, Dr Singh said, it is far easier to do business with Bangladesh than with many other countries.
In addition, he said, North Eastern Region has a critical role to play to boost trade and business between the two countries.
Dr Singh said, Bamboo from the Northeast is going to be an important vehicle of trade not only for India but also for the entire subcontinent, particularly the Eastern countries like Bangladesh.
He mentioned several items which could be promoted for popular trade between the two countries.
These, for example, included coal, ginger, citrus-fruit, etc. for export and cement, plastic, PVC pipes etc for import, he added.
The virtual conference was attended by Bangladesh Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma and Ganguli Das High commissioner to Bangladesh.