By Bhupen Goswami

Guwahati : The 8th edition of the much-hyped North East Festival in Guwahati began today with a colourful opening ceremony. Participating in the function, Union Minister of Dunner, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the north-eastern region will emerge as a preferred tourism and trade destination in India after the Kovid era. Speaking as the Chief Guest at the 8th edition of The North Eastern Festival, Dr. Singh said that the North Eastern Region will lead India to emerge as an economic power with its vast natural and human skill resources.

He said the sector will serve as a “new engine” for the economy. Similarly, he further said that it would emerge as an alternative to European tourist destinations, almost free from the remaining epidemic, when infected with the virus in other parts of the world. The Minister expressed hope that from next session, vacation lovers will definitely prefer the north-eastern region for their natural beauty at other global tourist destinations.

He said northeast India will stand for the new engine of growth for economic resurgence through trade in the post-epidemic times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can imbibe the local for vocal mantra and pursue the Atalmanbir campaign. Dr. Singh said that recently the Union Government has increased the import duty on raw bamboo items by 25%, which will help in large scale construction of domestic bamboo industries such as furniture, handicrafts and incense sticks and promote the use of bamboo as construction materials. The North Eastern Region has a special role to play in promoting trade and trade relations with ASEAN as it is the gateway to the growing economies of Southeast Asian countries.

The event was formally inaugurated by Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India in the presence of Assam Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb and other dignitaries. In his address at the inaugural session of the festival, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan said that the North Eastern Region is a gateway to the country’s connectivity and relations with South East Asia and can be seen as a link between the two fundamental pillars of Indian foreign policy, neighbourhood. Shringla said India has a vision for the region that is imprisoned in 3 computer networking – connectivity, commerce and cultural commableities – and is working to realize this vision. “On one level, we work bilaterally with our allies with a full range of diplomatic equipment. At another level, we work through multilateral initiatives such as BIMSTEC and BBIN or Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal grouping. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also addressed the event, talked about encouraging youth and promoting learning to make proper use of North East resources. His Tripura counterpart Bisplab Kumar Deb stressed the need to promote the north-east cuisine in the world.