11th Foundation Day
Shah Md Farid
(The writer is the founder director, Northeast India - ASEAN Chamber of Commerce, and Appointed Director, Guwahati branch, India - Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The writer can be reached at neiaseancc@gmail.com.)
The 11th Foundation Day Programme by the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI) on the 21st of March 2023 of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Dawki marks a new beginning for the people of the 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 the movement of passengers across the border to boost tourism, border haat, trade, etc.
The programme started with a 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 panellists.
The chairman explained how the LPAI came into existence 11 years ago and shared the objectives and goals of different land ports in the Northeast 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 programme were that the land port can be more than a mere port to facilitate trade and immigration but a place where the trade bodies from either side of the border can meet and discuss their trade-related issues with the concerned authorities.
The stakeholders in the tourism sector can set up offices and information centres so that tourists from either side are provided with the right facilities and information. This will also encourage the entrepreneurs living in that area to set up kiosks for local food, cafes, and money exchange offices, which will in turn generate employment among the people living in the area. The MIECC has been at the forefront of highlighting all trade-related issues for the importers and exporters of the region.
I am positive that with the new facility of the ICP in Dawki and improvements in Customs and Immigration facilities and infrastructure like roads, uninterrupted power, improved banking facilities, and mobile network connectivity, the ICP in Dawki will develop into a hub of trade and commerce and a fine example for the other ICPs in other parts of the northeast region.