NE access to SE Asia a must : Jaswant

YANGON, February 14: In a major policy shift, the Government of India is attaching top priority in opening all traditional trade routes between the Northeastern States and the neighbouring countries to encourage trade and commerce leading to economic development of the region. Hinting at this policy change was the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, who said the natural outlet for the Northeast is through the neighbouring South-east Asian countries and not Calcutta. "The Northeastern States has to have an access eastward," he told newsmen accompanying him on his tour to Myanmar, first by an Indian Foreign Minister in 14 years. "Opening up of the natural outlet for the Northeast is a challenge and we have to achieve it," he observed. Elaborating on his statement, he said what he wants to witness is a movement of goods, services and people from the Northeast through South-east Asia. "The natural movement of goods, people and services from Northeast is not through Calcutta," he asserted. As part of its new policy, the Government of India has been engaged in negotiations with Bangladesh to restore rail and road links between Agartala and Akhora in Bangladesh. He hinted that his ministry was not happy about the way trade between Meghalaya and Bangladesh were going owing to corruption in the customs department. It may be mentioned here that the Governments of two countries have also agreed to start a bus service between Dhaka and Shillong. The External Affairs Minister, who also happens to be the first ever Indian minister to cross over to Myanmar through the land route is expected to press for expediting the re-opening of the trade routes between the two countries through several other points besides taking up major economic projects of mutual interest, when he calls on the Myanmar's Foreign Minister, U Win Aung, later this evening. He is also scheduled to call on chief of the Myanmar Government, Senior General, Than Swe, who is the chairman of the State Peace Development Council (SPDC), besides secretary of the council, Lt Gen Khin Nyunt tomorrow morning before his departure for New Delhi. The Government of India had suspended all trades through the Northeastern States to the neighbouring countries after the 1965 conflict. The growth of insurgency in the region further led to phasing out the trade relations with the neighbouring countries like Myanmar from the country's radar. The minister justified his trip to the military-ruled country by asserting that India cannot have an access to the East if it continues with it policy to stand apart from Myanmar and Bangladesh. The officials and local business community of Indian origin here were highly critical of the policy adopted by the Congress Government which practically froze relationship with Myanmar since 1987. Incidentally, Rajiv Gandhi was the last Indian leader to have visited Myanmar in last 14 years. And to mark the revival of the old ties, and to push its new agenda of economic co-operation, the Ministry of External Affairs has already identified several projects including funding of two major power projects in Myanmar. While one is Tamanshi hydroelectric power project across the Manipur-Nagaland border, the other is a power project near Mandalay. "We propose to buy back majority of the power generated by the two projects to feed the Northeastern States," the minister said. On the anvil is also the possibility of opening the river route on river Kaladyne in Mizoram linking the State with Akyub port in Myanmar giving the Northeast an easy access to a port. If the Myanmar government decides to open up Akyub port for trade to India, it would come as a major breakthrough as Bangladesh government has refused to provide access to Chittagong port to Northeast. The minister is handing over a remote sensing project executed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to the Myanmar government as part of its confidence building measure. The minister said crossing over through Tamu border has conveyed a message that India and Myanmar have joined hands. He also described the tour through the border areas as a memorable day in his life. "It was the most rewarding heart warning experience," he added.