Guwahati: Union minister for development of the north eastern region Mani Shankar Aiyar says the Look East Policy can be successful only when the region links with South East Asia.
Addressing a visiting delegation from Thailand on Friday in Agartala, Mr Aiyar says the South East Asia’s link with the north eastern region cannot come only through trade but through an integral business relationship.
Disclosing that the Government pins hope on as many as 50 more airports in the North East within the next five years, the minister this will help the region boost trade with the South East Asia.
According to Mr. Aiyar, some of the key areas of economic activity where Thailand has made its mark are rubber industry, bamboo industry, handlooms & handicrafts and natural gas. In the rubber industry the North Eastern region could take advantage of the Thai expertise and offer very fruitful investment opportunities.
Tripura and the entire North Eastern region should provide these investment opportunities to Thailand to mutually gain from such collaborations, he says.
With this kind of collaboration the present 30,000 acres under natural rubber cultivation in Tripura could be targeted at three times this area, he says adding that similar kind of collaborations could be worked out in Bamboo, Handlooms & handicrafts and areas of Natural Gas. He also emphasised the need to develop an impressive road network in the north eastern region.
Mr Aiyar maintains that the Government plans to put in $ 15 billion in road construction in this area adding that the Thai expertise in this area is most impressive and it can be used for building road transport infrastructure in the NE region.
He further says rail and air connectivity in the region is also an area of priority. About 600 intra regional air services within the region per week are expected to serve in near future.
Thai Minister of Commerce Mr. Krirk-krai Jirapaet says he is very keen on Indo Thai business relations and hopes that at the end of this three day visit many areas of such cooperation could be identified.
Thirty-two members including heads of different business agencies and export councils are accompanying Mr. Krirk-krai Jirapaet. These members will interact with Indian business counterparts and discuss business/investment opportunities.
The delegation is visiting Guwahati and Shillong apart from Agartala during their visit.
The first Horizon Series Cultural Programme of the year 2013 was successfully held on 5th January 2013 from 6 pm onwards at Soul Speak Studio hall, Dimapur. The main programme saw performances from three artistes- Chuba Jamir, Kagholi Chisi and Toshi Aier.Chuba Jamir, who is also known as Kishore Kumar of Nagaland presented songs in Hindi, Engish and Ao including his latest remix of the you tube sensation Gangnam Style in Hindi which turn out to be a hit with the audience. Kagholi Chisi sang a few cover songs and Toshi Aier presented 3 Ao songs.A regular feature of Horizon Series programme is the open mic cum jam session with the intention of giving a platform to artistes wanting to perform...
ULFA seems to have stepped up its activities in the run up to the Republic Day. A hardcore ULFA militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Assam's Tinsukia district. Acting on a tip-off about the presence of a group of five ULFA cadres in Hebeda village, police launched an operation in the area.In an ensuing encounter the militant was killed while others managed to escape. The slain militant was identified as Debojit Duara alias Wangli Asom. His elder brother, also a suspected ULFA militant, was killed in an encounter in 2007. Police recovered a grenade and some ammunition from the slain militant. A massive combing operation was launched in the area to arrest other...
Security forces recovered two Improvised Explosive Devices from Nagajan area near Duliajan on Friday evening.The IEDs were planted near oil pipe lines in the area. Later, the army's bomb squad team defused the IEDs. ULFA’s anti-talk faction led by Paresh Baruah is active in upper Assam and is trying to trigger explosions in few areas ahead of the Republic Day.
Massive protest over rape and molestation is spreading across the state on Saturday. Members of the All Assam Association of the Deaf staged a demonstration here to protest against the rape of a mentally challenged woman allegedly by CRPF men in Lakhimpur district.Wearing pieces of black cloth across their mouths and held placards, the protestors shouted slogans demanding capital punishment for the culprits.The protest was triggered by an incident in North Lakhimpur, when two CRPF personnel allegedly raped a mentally challenged woman in Chaulduwa area in Lakhimpur town on Thursday.
Tinsukia police have arrested five persons for gangraping a 13-year-old girl on Friday. The incident took place at Sukanpukhuri tea estate under Makum police station on the intervening night of January 2-3 after one of the accused, Jogeshwar Mali, lost his cellphone.According to police, Tusu incited her husband and his friends to punish the girl and the four caught hold of the girl at a lonely stretch of the estate and raped her.The police arrested Tusu, Mali and his friends Sanesh Nayak, Tirnath Mali, Ram Chandra Patnaik after the girl told the family about the incident.
A lower court in Lakhimpur has jailed a CRPF jawan on Friday charging him with raping a physically challenged woman on Thursday. Three of his colleagues are on the run. The incident took place at Chauldhowa village. According to eyewitness, about four CRPF personnel forcibly took the physically challenged woman, who was passing by the CRPF camp on NH 52 in the area to the nearby jungle. Some locals raised an alarm. While they managed to catch Mohan Singh, the others fled. The victim has been sent for medical examinations.
In a huge setback for Congress ahead of the panchayat elections, a senior Congress leader in BTAD area has been sent to jail on Friday a day after he was caught red handed when he found with a woman Thursday morning. BTC Congress Committee chief convener Bikramsingh Brahma who stayed at the woman's house had forcefully slept with the victim to be discovered by her husband.After being thrashed by local residents, police produced him before the Chirang court on Friday where he was remanded to judicial custody. The Congress has expelled Brahma from the party.
Every year the Education Research and Development Foundation (ERDF) honors eminent personalities of the state in recognition of their contribution in different fields to mark the advent of New Year. This year ERDF selected some senior citizens of the state to wish good health and long life so that they can continue their service to the society.The 2013 edition of the felicitation programme was held at the Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) for ten senior citizens. The function began with welcome address of the dignitaries to the Dais by N I Laskar, Director, Corporate Communication ERDF. Dr H K Baruah, Director (Academics), ERDF welcomed the guests. Felicitation of...
A cycle rally was set on the roll at Bokakhat this morning with an objective to generate awareness among the masses for conservation of precious wildlife in Kaziranga National Park and its fringe areas in Assam. The rally has been organised by Aaranyak, a society working for bio-diversity conservation in association with Upatyaka, a conservation organization and State Forest Department.The rally which will culminate on January 5 at Garhpal, Sootea in Sonitpur district in the North Bank of Brahmaputra, was flagged off today at Bokakhat by local MLA Arun Phukan in presence of Kaziranga NP Director N.K. Vasu, prominent citizens of Bokakhat, officer-in-charge of Bokakhat Police station,...
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The Assam Times is an online news portal that tells the tales of people from all walks of life. “Assam” here does not confine to today’s geographical boundary and goes beyond the barriers. We welcome news and articles on/from the entire northeastern states - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and Meghalaya. First time writers, please send a short note about yourself along with your Facebook/Twitter ID, contact details and a small photograph for your Reporter's ID Card.
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