Act East Policy: Sushma to meet 8 N-E CMs today

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will meet newly elected Chief Ministers of North-Eastern States on Friday to brief them about India’s Act East Policy and the importance it attaches to the ASEAN region.

“Chief Ministers of the eight North-Eastern States of India have been invited to attend this meeting and they will be accompanied by senior officials from the States who deal with policy issues related to the subject,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Apart from the Chief Ministers, others who are expected to attend the meeting include Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of the Niti Aayog, Gen (Retd) VK Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (East) in MEA Preeti Saran as well as Secretaries from the Ministry of DoNER, Tourism and North Eastern Council will also participate in the discussions. Senior officials from other ministries of the Government including Road Transport and Highways, Commerce and Industry, Civil Aviation, Home Affairs  have also been invited to the meeting to provide a comprehensive policy view.

In an attempt to deepen its engagement with the ASEAN region, the Government had in January organised the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit that was hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 25. MEA officials said the meeting on Friday will further underscore PM’s vision of keeping the North-East at the heart of India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and the ongoing engagement with ASEAN.