Govt aims to make Northeast gateway of 'Act East Policy': President Murmu

The objective of the 'Act East Policy' is to promote economic cooperation, and cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region

The government is working to make the northeast a strategic gateway under its 'Act East Policy' and has increased the allocation for the region's development by more than four times over the last 10 years, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday.

Addressing a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament after the constitution of the 18th Lok Sabha, Murmu said that for the first time, work on inland waterways has started in the northeast on a large scale and it will benefit the region immensely.

"My government has increased the allocation for the development of the northeast region by more than four times over the last 10 years. The government is working to make this region a strategic gateway under its Act East Policy," she said.

India's 'Act East Policy' focuses on the extended neighbourhood in the Indo-Pacific region with ASEAN as its core.

The objective of the 'Act East Policy' is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, thereby providing enhanced connectivity in its broadest sense, including political, economic, cultural and people-to-people relations.

The President said connectivity of all kinds is being expanded in the northeast and development works are being taken up in every field including education, health, tourism and employment.

"A semi-conductor plant is being established in Assam at a cost of Rs 27,000 crore. The northeast will also be a hub of Made in India chips," she said.

Referring to the past disturbances in the region, Murmu said the central government is continuously working for lasting peace in the northeast and in the last 10 years, many old disputes have been resolved and many important agreements have been reached.

"The work for withdrawing the AFSPA from the disturbed areas of the northeast is also underway in a phased manner by accelerating development in those areas," she said.