Have Chosen One Of Our Most Valuable Partners Japan For Development Of Northeast: FS

New Delhi, Mar 5: India’s relations with Japan have acquired the dimensions of a special strategic and global partnership and given the importance of the Northeast, India has chosen to work with Japan for the development of the region, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Friday. The Northeast connects India to its neighbours and to one of the most economically dynamic and politically significant geographies of the world – the ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific, Shringla said addressing the inaugural session of the Dialogue on ‘Development of North Eastern Indian Region: Indo-Japan Collaboration for Connectivity, Commerce, Capacity Building, Culture and Conservation’.

“The Northeast connects us to our neighbours and to one of the most economically dynamic and politically significant geographies of the world – the ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific,” he said. Speaking in 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the Northeastern region has a very high priority in the government’s developmental agenda, he recalled.

“It is therefore logical that we have chosen to work with one of our most valuable partners, Japan, for the development of this area,” he said. “Our relations with Japan have acquired the dimensions of a Special Strategic and Global Partnership, firmly rooted in history and based on common values,” Shringla said.

Four road connectivity projects are underway in various parts of the Northeast and roads are being augmented in Mizoram, Meghalaya and in Tripura, he said. The longest bridge in the country across the Brahmaputra in Dhubri in Assam is being constructed with Japanese support, Shringla pointed out.

“Japan is also helping us modernise the Umiam-Umtru Hydroelectric Power Station in Meghalaya and with the Guwahati Water Supply and Guwahati Sewerage Project,” he said. The forward-looking and holistic aspect of this partnership is visible in projects with the forest department in the states of Sikkim, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya to conserve biodiversity, strengthen forestry management, and improve local incomes, he said.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here