Eastward Ho!

 The Indo-Nepal Treaty of peace and friendship of 1950 known as Roti-Beti ka Rista (Marriage and food relations) is a relation based on open border, power trade and defence. The thriving cross border trade with shared culture and traditions speaks volumes of the close relationship between India and Nepal. History has recorded that both countries hold a special relation when it comes to connectivity, trade, defence cooperation, and humanitarian assistance. The five Indian states that share the 1850 kms border with Nepal are Sikkim, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh but Nepal’s connectivity with India’s North East is equally significant. The open border enables regular and uninterrupted movement of people, goods and services   more than government schemes and trade. The close community relationship among the people provides better livelihood opportunities in many sectors including emergency services. An estimated over eight million Nepalese people work in...

 It is a fact that both Bhutan and the north east part of India is connected firstly by emotional bond and then interest and welfare over years of bilateral corporation has flourished even through trying times. Bhutan has always been a special friend and a great neighbour and has a special place in the hearts and minds of the people in Assam and the North east. India always stood with the wishes and aspirations of the Bhutanese people. Both our countries have reached new levels of confidence with the launch of Rupay card and the Bhim app. A section of the Bhutanese youth is also being absorbed in India’s IT sector. The recent start up system of the two countries via structured workshop, National Knowledge Network and the Druk – Ren connection and e-library Project along with knowledge and education sharing agreements has led to newer connections between the people. An India – Bhutan – SAT is to be launched into space shortly. Gelephu, the world’s first mindfulness city in Bhu...

  The BBIN (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal) multi model initiative in the sub region on connectivity should address the following: ·         Economic integration and transport connectivity initiative to strengthen multi model connection in the BBIN. ·         Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) ·         Multi model connectivity protocol ·         Connectivity at Integrated Check Posts ( ICPs) with rail network ·         Land Port Authority of India (LPAI) nodal body under Ministry of Home Affairs that is responsible for maintaining and managing border infrastructure is looking to develop rail connect with three of its ICP viz, Raxaul, Petrapole and Jogbani. At present no ICP is connected by railways. The ICPs are looking at connectivity near waterways including that of Chattogram and Mongla seaport...

The 11 th Foundation Day Program by the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI) on the 21 st March 2023 of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) Dawki marks a new beginning for the people of West Jaintia Hills district and its adjoining areas in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. The ICP will be fully operational now with better facilities for bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh as well as movement of passengers across the border to boost tourism, border haat trade etc. The program started with the speech by Shri Aditya Mishra IPS, Chairman of LPAI and was attended by officials from Customs, BSF, SIB, BDO, MIECC, Meghalaya Police, LPAI and other panelists. The Chairman explained how the LPAI came into existence 11 years ago and shared the objectives and goals of different land ports of the north east in the next five years. As someone who has visited many international land borders both in this region and in ASEAN,  I feel the important takeaways of the program was that th...

  The recent visit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India has implications for the co-operation not only for India – Bangladesh trade ties with reference to the North East region but also for Bhutan, Nepal and the entire South East Asia region. The Prime Minister invited the Indian investors to invest in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing and set up industries through Buy-Back arrangements. She also mentioned about the two dedicated Special Economic Zones at Mongla and Mirsarai.   The Bhutan, Bangladesh, India Nepal (BBIN) Region is moving forward to achieve greater sub – regional economic interaction and transport connectivity. The governments of these countries are launching various national, bilateral, trilateral and sub – regional initiatives in this field for pursuing a more integrated development roadmap. These initiatives will bolster faster and safer trade, transit and transportation system in this sub – region. In this context, a study on catal...

 The aim of the IMT Highway Project is to open the gate to ASEAN with India through India’s North east through land. The project will boost trade, commerce and investment between the two regions and the ASEAN – India Free Trade Area. India had proposed the IMT highway project be extended up to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. During my recent visit to Thailand I had the honour to meet His Excellency Korn Dabbaransi, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and President of the Thai – India Friendship Forum. H.E. is a strong advocate of the trilateral highway and discussed at lengths the growth and prospects that will follow once the entire highway is completed and fully operational. In the meeting was also present Khun Somsak Burapapipath, the Managing Director of GMS Rally   (ASEAN ) the oldest and most experienced overland rally company in Southeast Asia. A lot of ground inputs were discussed and highlighted regarding the highway. Khun Somsak had undertaken several over...

The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Project will provide an alternative route between India’s landlocked Northeast to Southeast Asia. As the name implies it is multi-modal and engages a range of infrastructure from roads, bridges and floating barrages. Once completed it will be a game changer for the Northeast region’s access to ASEAN and Southeast Asia through Myanmar to provide an alternative route between landlocked Northeast and the rest of India as well. It is currently served by the narrow Siliguri corridor. The Kaladan project starts from West Bengal through the Bay of Bengal to Myanmar’s Sittwe port where it meets the Kaladan river which flows from Myanmar to Mizoram ultimately connecting the Northeast. Several hurdles such as political disturbances, difficulty in acquiring land for the project and the global pandemic of 2020 had caused delays in completing this project. In the first phase   the main purpose was to connect Sittwe port in Myanmar with Haldia in West Bengal t...

  As global geopolitical dynamics evolve, India’s relationship with Bangladesh is evolving into more long term commitments between the two countries. The signing of several India-Bangladesh MoU’s on various sectors including sharing of waterways serve as the harbinger of closer ties between the people of the two countries. Thus, the visit of the Ambassador of Bangladesh to North East India could not have come at a better time. His Excellency Muhammed Imran, the Ambasador visited Guwahati and Dawki via Shillong last week.   He was accompanied by the Bangladesh Asst. High Commissioner who is based in Guwahati. They were received warmly by the governing body of the Meghalaya International Exporters Chamber of Commerce (MIECC) at   Dawki. A fruitful and interactive discussion took place where the MIECC have highlighted issues of the Dawki -Tamabil land border trade that need to be addressed for the smooth functioning of trade between the two countries. Some of the issues di...

  The age old ties between India and Bangladesh have withstood many challenges. History has been witness to the social, cultural and economic bonding of New Delhi with Dhaka. The relation of northeast India with Bangladesh occupies a special place in the history of both the countries. Since Bangladesh was originally a part of undivided India, many   eminent personalities from the region have studied in Dhaka University. Even now   there is cross border relations between close relatives and friends of the two countries. The culture of Northeast, especially Assam, is quite similar to that of Bangladesh, with the same fondness for fish and fish products and music inspired by the Brahmaputra, known as Padma in Bangladesh.   The future of Northeast India and Bangladesh looks bright with emerging partnerships and associations in different fields. In this context I would like to highlight a few significant steps that have been taken over the years to enhance connectivit...

India and ASEAN trade ties grew 22% annually during 2005 – 2011 and more than 37% in 2011-12.It is set for a growth to USD 300 billion by 2025. It has a promising trend to grow at a much faster pace in years to come with India’s Look East Policy. The signing of ASEAN – India Trade in goods agreement involve over 1.8 billion people with a combined GDP of over USD 3 trillion creating the world’s largest FTA ( Free Trade Agreement). The FTA and Co-operation among the ASEAN members signify a great opportunity in the field of culture, trade and commerce with India, that too through land transport along the border of approximately 1645 kms that India shares with Myanmar. The most popular and the busiest border town are Moreh (Manipur) and Tamu ( Myanmar in Sagaing Region).The other two yet to be developed and not fully operational border points are Zokathar in Mizoram (that shares approximately 515 kms border with Myanmar) and the Pangsu Pass (Lido) in Arunachal Pradesh ( that shares app...

The border town of Dawki (Tamabil) in Jaintia hills in Meghalaya  is a strategic land border hub with Bangladesh . It is approximately 82 kms from the capital Shillong. The border haat at Lyngkhat bordering Muktapur in Bangladesh which is approximately 18 kms from Dawki plays an important trade point for both trades from India and Bangladesh. The export basket so far from the Tamabil land border station has been coal ( till the time coal mining has stopped) boulders and limestone, both from the Khasi and Jaintia hills. The products imported   from Bangladesh are agrobased products, garments etc. mostly through the border haat. It is noteworthy that Tamabil is the busiest Indo – Bangladesh border trade route after Benapur in West Bengal. The Remington steel bridge over river Umngot is the lifeline between the Khasi and Jaintia hills. I was invited by a few exporters from the area and guided well by Mr. Chanmiki Lamin,   a young and upcoming entrepreneur and ow...

I was invited by the Asia Centre to the 2019 ASEAN Community Leadership and Partnership Forum, held in conjunction with the 34 th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok which was organised by Kingsley Strategic Institute ( KSI), ASEAN Business Advisory Council ( ASEAN – BAC), ASEAN Studies Centre, Nation Building Institute and the Asia Centre on the 23 rd & 24 th June, 2019 at Park Hyatt, Bangkok which was as eye opening experience and a very informative meet. A series of issues were addressed by renowned personalities like H.E. Anand Panyarachun, Former Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Dr. Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of Lao PDR, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and former Director-General, World Trade Organisation, Mr. Arin Jira, Chairman ASEAN Business Advisory Council ( ASEAN-BAC) / Vice Chaiman, Federation of Thai Industries/ Co- Chairman, ASEAN CLAPF and Mr. Tan Sri Michael Yeoh. I am highlighting the issues that were addressed and dis...

The border town of Dalu in Garo hills can be the first preferred nearest international border to the North East’s business Hub, Guwahati. One can travel by road from Guwahati to Tura in four hours and Tura to Dalu in around two hours. From the border in Bangladesh’s Naltabari in Nakugaon   it is three hours by road to the capital city, Dhaka.   So one can travel from Guwahati to Dhaka in approximately 10 hours- this is possible and very much doable. I was recently invited by the Dalu Exporter’s Association and the Tribal Exporter’s Association to do a   ground assessment on the possibilities of actively promoting   International trade from the border. I was accompanied by Mr. Aki Sangma, an upcoming entrepreneur and an active member of the Exporter’s Association. I spent the entire day at the border and also met the Customs and BSF officials who were cordial in replying to all my border -related queries. Dalu is a quiet border town ever since coal expo...

My recent visit to Mae Sot ( Thai – Myanmar border town) last month left me amazed as to how what was once a sleepy border town has become a well developed and well equipped International land border resulting in employment generation and  development of the entire region. I have had the opportunity to visit different International land borders over the years, be it the Indo- Bangladesh border points of Tamabil and Mahendraganj in Meghalaya and Sutarkandi in Assam, Indo – Bhutan border in Gelephu in Assam, Indo – Nepal border in Kakarbita in West Bengal, Indo- China border in the high altitude Natu la Pass in Sikkim and the most popular and crowded Indo – Myanmar border in the town of Moreh in Manipur. Recently, I was appointed the Advisor to the ‘Border Trade & Chamber of Commerce’ Moreh town. Regarding Mae Sot we can learn from the different facilities offered in this border town to boost international trade. The newly constructed Land Custom Terminal in Mae Sot c...

During my travels to the international border areas in the  region and after being appointed Advisor to the Border Trade & Chamber of Commerce, Moreh town, Manipur, I have interacted extensively with the local population. Based on my observations, I would like to suggest the following core issues that need to be addressed to boost trade and employment in these areas. 1) Ministries such as the Ministry of DONER should have one member at least from each of the North Eastern states to enable each state to put forward their point of view regarding trade and development in their respective states.    2) Active engagement of Institutes like the EXIM Bank, NEDFI, NABARD, APEDA and ECGC. These respective Institutes can hold Awareness & Information Seminars and Interactive sessions from time to time in these areas with the active engagement of the local trade bodies. 3) A core committee can be formed with representation from every state that has an Internatio...

                 Global analysts have predicted that more co-operations amongst India, China and Southeast Asian nations will bring about a rapid economic growth affecting positive changes in the standard of living of the people of these nations. If such a development takes place, together they will be able to place themselves as a formidable economic block. This requires a sincere regional cooperation among these nations in all aspects like policy, economic and cultural development. The key objective of regional co-operation in trade is to achieve more rapid growth through improvement in network and connectivity through road and transport communication and logistic infrastructure. Regional co-operation amongst these geographically contiguous countries is expected to facilitate trade relation by fruitfully mobilizing local resources and fully utilizing them. However, the moot issue is to travel smooth and safe, trouble-free transport o...