The North East region of India can be an engine of growth towards India’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term, there is an opportunity to fast-track the development of North East India by adopting a multi-dimensional strategy, focusing on three pillars which will affect the security, political economy and social cohesion of the region.

a) Connectivity to the neighbourhood and external dimensions: The region's strategic geographical location plays a crucial role in India's security, political and economic relations within the Indo-Pacific and SAGAR frameworks. The age old civilizational and familial relationships across borders makes a case for Implementation of India’s “Act East” policy and “Neighbourhood First” policy happens in the North East region of India. Connectivity with eastern neighbours, such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Nepal and onward to the Bay of Bengal and ASEAN region holds a lot of promise. However, there are still many challenges to greater economic integration and sub-regional cooperation in this region. 

b) Economic and social development and internal dimensions: Leveraging on its abundant natural and human resources, the development of sectors such as clean and conventional energy, agriculture, tourism, health and education hold enormous potential.  Infrastructure improvement initiatives, such as extending road, rail, and air connections are underway. However, in order to catch up, game changing projects and initiatives that have a compounding effect at a regional level are needed. What can those be? Connecting the states internally to create aggregation mechanisms are needed: yet with the region being a mosaic of diverse cultures and landscapes a “one size fits all” approach will not work. 

c)  Traditional/non-traditional and overall security dimensions:  :  Natural Disasters further induced by climate change, fresh water security, political instability in the neighbouring countries, illegal migration, illegal trafficking at porous borders, drug trafficking and poppy cultivations, the China factor , and ethnic tensions pose a series of inter connected challenges. 

There is value to a inclusive pan regional multistakeholder engagement with the policymakers to forge a vision and plan for the future based on the convergence of the above factora which can give concrete ideas for projects and engagements in the region. Keeping this in the backdrop,  Asian Confluence  hosted this exclusive, close-door roundtable with Key thought leaders, Parliamentarians and think tank representatives to discuss the vital and time-sensitive theme of India’s North East and Eastern Neighbourhood: The Vision Forward

AGENDA

·       Welcome and Introduction

·       Felicitations

·       Opening Remarks: Shri. MP Bezbaruah, Chairman, Governing Council, Asian Confluence

·       Opening Presentation: Prof. Mahendra Lama, Professor, JNU, New Delhi and Distinguished Fellow Asian Confluence

Part A: Interaction with the Honourable Members of Parliament and Policy Makers

Part B: Open House Roundtable Interaction

Networking Lunch 

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