Potential in Northeast India begins unfolding: S. Jaishankar

Seoul: "The potential of the North-East has now begun to unfold...we used to talk about the Look East policy and the Act East policy. We were not looking east and acting east in our own country. If you see how difficult it was to travel, the level of business, the attention given, and the resources given, it was actually very disturbing. That has been one of the changes of the last 10 years. The semiconductor project in Assam approved by the Union Cabinet, stating that it presents a big statement regarding how much priority India attaches to the north-east region,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said this while interacting with the Indian community in Seoul. During this, he was asked about the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur and the situation due to the influx of migrants from Myanmar. Terming the situation in Manipur amid the ethnic violence as "distressing,"  Jaishankar said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre had worked extensively to help the Northeast region realize its potential and is working for the return of normalcy in the state.

Replying to the question, Jaishankar said that the potential of the north-east region was not fully explored earlier and has changed in the last 10 years. He said that the eruption of tensions despite putting in so much effort is "disturbing.".

"Putting in this much effort, having seen how much the states of North-East India have changed in the last decade, everyone is...distressed is a very mild word for what is happening in Manipur," he added.

Notably, Manipur has been witnessing ethnic strife between the Meitei and the Kuki tribal communities since May 2023.

Jaishankar also drew a comparison of how India has benefited in terms of the border situation due to having a deep relationship with Bangladesh and Bhutan. On the other hand, India had to suspend the Free Movement Regime with Myanmar due to tensions.

"Today, our relations with Bangladesh have changed tremendously. You see railways, trains, and waterways; goods are going to Bangladesh ports; and electricity is being supplied. It has given a whole area a kind of boost. We are also seeing, in a similar way, if we can benefit from Bhutan, connecting Bhutan more closely," the EAM said.

He added, "One of our issues has also been that we have had an open border with Myanmar. In fact, we have a very unique system; you can travel 16 km either way without travel documents. After all this tragic events, we have decided to suspend the operation and try to harden the border situation."

Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the "immediate suspension of the Free Movement Regime (FMR)" between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India's north-eastern states bordering Myanmar.

In this regard, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also announced that the government has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometre-long Indo-Myanmar border to facilitate better surveillance and ensure a patrol track along the border.

Speaking further, the External Affairs Minister said that the situation in Manipur is "unfortunate" and the whole country is wishing for the return of normalcy in the crisis-stricken state.

"It is unfortunate. There is nobody who would not regret what is happening there; it is really tragic because the close intermingling of the communities led to this degree of violence, which becomes really difficult to head off. I think the wishes of the entire country are really with Manipur. People would like to see normalcy return; they would like to see law and order get back. This is not India, and certainly not the North-East, which anybody is hoping for,” Jaishankar added. (ANI)

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