“We hope to finalize broad understanding for post, river and highway component for Sittway land custom post between India and Myanmar in the month of April 2008, during the Myanmarese delegation visit to India,” he stated. We have to make Kaladan river navigational. Thereby bypassing Bangladesh for alternate trade route for the products of South East Asia and North East as well, he added.

Dedicated Regional Private Airlines will be operational by the end of 2008 to improve the connectivity within the region. The region consist of 23 Airports out of which only 11 are operational and by the next five years the rest will also be operational , he added.

Railway will spend Rs 10,000 crore to expand rail network in the region. Presently North East is having only three percent of rail network as compared to the entire network in the country. He said, geography and terrain is no excuse, if China can construct rail network from Sanghai to Lasha.

He said, power generation in one of the most focused area in the region and Central Government is giving full attention to capitalize on the potential of the North East in the power sector. We have to double effective power generation capacity by 2011, he added.

Broadband connection is also slated for a rapid and spectacular growth in the region. At present 20,000 broadband connections exist in the entire region which is anticipated to go up to 1,50,000 by the next year, he said.

He stressed that tea plantation and production is central to economics of this region and will create a multiplier effect for the local economy. Rubber plantation is another area, which is conducive to this region. 60,000 hectare is presently under cultivation in the North East Region but potential is about half a million hectares as identified, he pointed out.

About the embryonic state of the information technology in the region, he announced that Tata consultancy Services in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati will have its flag in Guwahati very soon to train and develop human resource potential according to the requirements of the various industries.

For quadrilateral Growth of the region Government of India is substantially maintaining good relationship with Bangladesh, Myanmar and South East Asia. Citing recent example of lifting ban on foreign direct investment from Bangladesh, he said, import duty from 4008 items have already been withdrawn under SAFTA agreement.

Allaying the fears of the potential investors in the region he said a large part of the country is more unsafe than the major part of the North East. He urged media that good things should also be covered in the news to create investor friendly environment in the region which would eventually help reduce the unemployment in the region as well.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam expressed that mere fund allocation would not help North East Region. We have to improve the absorption capacity by improving education, technology, and technical institute in this region, he added.

Replying to a query on FDI in the region, Shri Ramesh said, “We are chasing a wrong bus; we should not look at Non Resident Indians of this region as investors as they are from the first generation who have settled abroad rather we should look up to the professional services of NRIs to upgrade our skills in the area of education and technology.”