External affairs minister S. Jaishankar will lead a delegation of at least 35 heads of missions in Delhi to the two-day Advantage Assam 2.0, a mega investment summit to be held in Guwahati from February 25.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced the participation of the foreign envoys along with business delegations from Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Bhutan.

The advisory issued by Australia to its citizens against travelling to Assam has been withdrawn but they have been asked not to go to four districts where the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) is in force, Sarma announced.

Australia has reviewed the travel restrictions issued to its citizens against visiting the state and announced revised guidelines that they can travel in all districts of Assam barring Tinsukia, Charaideo, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar.

Sarma is also hopeful about Germany lifting travel restrictions for its citizens.

These developments will give a boost to the mega summit, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi will reach Guwahati on February 24.

Sarma said the heads of the missions, some with their spouses, will be reaching Guwahati in a special plane arranged by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) on
February 23.

Besides attending the summit, they will also visit Kaziranga National Park on February 23, and attend a jhumor dance performance of over 9,000 youths at the Sarusajai Stadium on February 25.

“The number of envoys may also rise to 50. Foreign minister S. Jaishankar will lead this delegation. He will be staying in the state for three days. The MEA and the Prime Minister’s Office have helped in ensuring the presence of the envoys. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach Guwahati on February 24, while finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will grace the valedictory programme,” an upbeat Sarma said, expressing his gratitude to the Centre.

Big names from the India Inc, including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Anil Agarwal and N. Chandrasekaran have also confirmed their participation in the summit.

The chief minister said the government has received over 1,500 proposals for memorandums of understanding (MoUs) from outside the state but the state cabinet will finalise after going through the same.

“We are expecting an investment of over ₹1 lakh crore,” he said.

On the other hand, proposals worth ₹12,000 crore from the state’s MSME sector have also been received, the chief minister said.