Event Highlights

Event Highlights

• The conference critically evaluated the paradigm shift in development in Northeast India, with a special focus on Assam’s role in steering the region toward rapid and sustainable growth.
• It emphasized industrialization as the primary driver of economic expansion and employment generation for both skilled and unskilled labor.
• Discussions highlighted the importance of interregional and international trade in enabling industrialization within a landlocked region like the Northeast.
• Assam was recognized as the core hub for regional industrial development due to its population size, resource base, and superior connectivity.
• The event explored how forward and backward linkages among Northeastern states could create a self-sustaining regional growth process.
• Participants examined the contribution of digital transformation and the “Digital India” initiative in promoting governance, trade, and business innovation in the region.
• The “Look East Policy” was discussed as a pivotal foreign policy framework linking Northeast India with Southeast Asia for economic cooperation.
• The conference analyzed the potential impact of the ASEAN–India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) on the region’s development and trade integration.
• It assessed how tariff liberalization under AIFTA could open new markets and growth opportunities for Assam and neighboring states.
• Overall, the conference concluded that industrialization, trade, and digital connectivity together could serve as key engines of inclusive and sustainable growth for the Northeast.