Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma continued his engagement with foreign dignitaries on Thursday, a day after the “successful” conclusion of the two-day Advantage Assam 2.0 investment summit, meeting World Bank country director Dr. Auguste Tano Kouamé and Bhutan agriculture minister Younten Phuntsho, to discuss possible areas of collaboration on Thursday.
His meeting with World Bank country director Kouamé also figured future plans, including discussions on establishing plug-and-play industrial park infrastructure in the state, supporting PPP models in various sectors, prioritising agriculture and allied sectors and building on the success of ongoing agriculture sector projects under the bank.
Over breakfast, he bonded over Bhutan’s agriculture and livestock minister Younten Phuntsho. “We had insightful discussions on strengthening cooperation between Assam and Bhutan in shared growth areas such as agriculture, trade, tourism, education and power,” Sarma said later, while “encouraging” his “young friends to visit the exhibition and experience first-hand the change taking place in Assam”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the summit while his colleague Piyush Goyal inaugurated the valedictory function.
Sarma has defined the summit a “defining moment” for the state but admitted that the real challenge would be to get the proposals and promises to turn into reality in a state which had been impeded in the past due to several factors.