The two-day India-Bangladesh Stakeholders’ Meet for Trade and Connectivity, that was held in Guwahati on October 22 and 23, has definitely ended on a positive note, with both sides emphasizing on the need for increased trade and connectivity between the Northeastern region and the neighbouring country. The Sarbananda Sonowal government must be lauded for hosting such a crucial event. It is a sad commentary that there has been hardly any activity in the Northeast that can be termed as trade as far as Bangladesh is concerned, with official statistics revealing that of whatever volume of trade India and Bangladesh have, the share of NE region in that is just a negligible 0.72 per cent. This also speaks volumes about what the Union government and the governments of the eight states comprising the Northeast have been doing all these decades.
While the Centre’s erstwhile Look East Policy had not brought anything to the Northeast as far as trade with the neighbouring countries is concerned, the figures also reveal that nothing much had happened either after the BJP-led regime that took over reins at the Centre in 2014 replaced the Look East Policy with a supposedly aggressive Act East Policy. It will be important to find out exactly what the trade volume between the Northeast and Bangladesh has been in the successive years after the BJP-led government was installed at the Centre a little over five years ago. It is a fact that the Northeastern region has been lagging behind as far as the manufacture of items and commodities that are exportable to the neighbouring countries are concerned. The tea industry captains should tell the people how much volume of tea they have been exporting from Assam to Bangladesh. Likewise, others in the business of exporting coal, boulders, cement, fruits and vegetables from Assam and the Northeast to the neighbouring countries should also tell the people how much they have been actually exporting and how much has been the worth of those items year-wise. That Bangladesh is doing better on its part can be gauged from the presence of Pran food products all over the region. Though India and Bangladesh have recently signed several crucial protocols intended at bringing about direct and increased benefits to Assam and other Northeastern states, what the two-day stakeholders’ meet has finally proposed is to constitute a joint task force to monitor development on the issues that were flagged off during the conference.
The Assam government, which hosted the two-day meet, must have by now identified certain specific areas and issues that have to be addressed for increased participation of local entrepreneurs in the changing scenario. These should be immediately put in the public domain. Questions have already arisen in the minds of people as to what benefits are likely to accrue out of the Northeast region’s access to Chittagong and Mongla sea ports in Bangladesh. What are the items that have the possibility of being exported from the region through these two ports and to which destination countries? What is the strategy of the government of Assam to attract tourists and students from Bangladesh? What are the particular courses and facilities the universities of Assam have on offer to attract students from Bangladesh? Which are the super-specialty hospitals that the government of Assam has in mind when it is talking about promoting Guwahati as a healthcare destination for Bangladesh? Who are the people who are likely to fly from Bangladesh to Guwahati/Assam after the reintroduction of Guwahati-Dhaka flight service? Also, what are the specific MoUs that industry and business houses of Assam and the region have signed in the several B2B sessions that were held alongside the stakeholders’ meet? Simple questions.
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