Guwahati, Sept. 26: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has assured DoNER minister Jitendra Singh that it will hold events focusing on investment opportunities in the Northeast in the near future.
Singh had held discussions with Assocham delegates, led by its national team of office bearers, in New Delhi yesterday on the various options, opportunities and possibilities of investment in the region.
Singh said the DoNER ministry is encouraging investments, both through government agencies and private parties. He cited the examples of the collaboration with the government of Japan, which is planning heavy investment in the region, and the Singapore government's offer to build a skill development centre in Assam.
He said several leading industrial and trade houses of the country have also stepped in to invest in different states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur.
The minister said Assocham, being a leading representative body of trade and business industry in the country, can take the lead in spreading awareness about the avenues available and also act as a bridge between the government and the private industry to facilitate the public-private partnership model in trade promotion.
The handicraft, herbal and medicinal plant sectors have already attracted some of the leading business houses in the country to set up their establishments in the Northeast. Assocham can perform the role of a catalyst as well as a bridge to fill up the missing gaps, he added.
Singh said the Centre's fast-track thrust in the last three years had resulted in a sea of change by improving air, rail and road connectivity and this is bound to overcome many of the earlier constraints faced by potential entrepreneurs.
'The northeastern states are now ready to uplift themselves on a par with the more developed states of the country and the respective governments of the different states of the Northeast are also highly motivated by the priority and focus shown by the Centre,' the minister said.
'The Assocham delegation assured Singh of full cooperation and said that in the near future, they would plan a number of events focusing on investment opportunities in the Northeast,' a DoNER ministry statement said.