A business session on ‘Manipur: Gateway to Asia’ was held under the aegis of the Department of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, government of Manipur in association with the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Imphal on Tuesday.
During the session, officials of Health & Family Welfare, Horticulture and Soil Conservation and Textiles, Commerce and Industry presented papers on various topics.
Members of All Manipur Entrepreneur Association and Managing Director of Shija Hospital and Research Institute also presented papers at the session.
As a part of the session, a short video on Manipur by Tourism Department, Government of Manipur was also screened.
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Heads of Mission, High Commissioner of Brunel Darusalam, Dato Paduka Sidek Ali; Ambassador of Cambodia, Ung Sean; Ambassador of Indonesia, Sidhrato Reza Suryodipuro and Ambassador of Lao PDR, Bounneme Chouanghom attended the business session.
High Commissioner of Malaysia, Dato Hidayet Abdul Hamid; Ambassador of Myanmar Moe Kyaw Aung; High Commissioner of Singapore Lim Thuan Kuan and Ambassador of Thailand Chutintorn Gongsakdi also attended the business session, say DIPR sources.
After the presentation, ASEAN Heads of Mission observed that Manipur has lots of potential in health and tourism sector.
They also said being a gateway to the South Asian nations, Manipur can undertake border trade.
They stated that connectivity needs to be improved for better trade and commerce with the neighbouring countries.
It may be mentioned that the ASEAN Heads of Mission are in Imphal to attend the ongoing Manipur Sangai Festival 2019, an annual tourism festival of the state.
The Manipur Sangai Festival aims to make the state an important tourist destination in India’s Northeast considering its strategic locations.
Additional Chief Secretary Suhel Akhtar, Principal Secretary (Textiles , Commerce and Industry) P Vaiphei were among others who attended the Business session.