Assam springboard of India's Act East Policy: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister SJaishankar on Monday said, Assam is the springboard ofIndia's Act East Policy and for making it successful andattracting investments, there is need for all-rounddevelopment of the state.

The minister, accompanied by Japanese Ambassador toIndia Satoshi Suzuki, was here to review JICA-assistedprojects in the northeastern state.

Addressing a press conference, Jaishankar said, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi is deeply committed to the developmentof Assam, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided projects in the state are examples of how internationalpolicies and partnerships can contribute to the development ofstates.

''The Modi government's deep commitment for theprogress and welfare of Assam can be seen in the variousprojects that are being implemented and changes that happenedin the last six years,'' he said.

Noting that his visit to the state was ''very much apart of this trend'', he expressed hope that many of theprojects would fructify.

''One way, Assam can bring in more investments will beto build better infrastructure to which the Union governmentis committed, and specifically how to appeal to businesses ofa particular country,'' he said.

After visiting the Guwahati drinking water supplyproject with the envoy, Jaishankar said that this was animportant project being implemented in the state with Japaneseassistance.

''We want to cite this as an example of how foreignpolicies can make a difference in the lives of ordinary peopleof a country,'' the minister said.

JICA's footprint in the state would be roughly betweenRs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 crore, including bridges, roads, watersupply, sewerage, health and agriculture projects, he said.

Referring to Japanese investments in the state, theminister said that human resources must respond to Japanesecompanies in an environment where they are comfortable, and''we need more sessions with these companies to highlight theplus points of the state''.

Jaishankar requested the envoy to respond to aquestion at the press conference regarding investments by hiscountry in the northeastern state, to which he replied thathis government can give assistance to create necessaryinfrastructure but for that ''Japanese companies will have tochoose Assam for their investment''.

''There should be healthy competition among differentstates and Japanese businessmen must know the state better.

There are already many young entrepreneurs of our country whoknow the potential of this state'', he added.

Referring to the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit TransportProject, he said that the Sittwe port is operational but thereare logistical challenges with the navigability part provingto be more difficult than what the surveys had indicated.

There were law and order challenges in the areasbordering Mizoram but ''it is in the last stage and we expectto push it through soon'', he said.

The Kaladan project when completed will connect Kolkatawith Sittwe seaport in Myanmar.

Asked about the impact of political developments inneighbouring Myanmar, which is an important component of theAct East Policy, he said, ''these are early days and hopefullydevelopment projects will not be affected''.

On India's role regarding COVID-19 vaccine in theinternational arena, Jaishankar said that the country is amongthe largest producers of the vaccine in the world with twoindigenous vaccines being supplied to around 20 to 25 nations.

''We have been providing vaccines to our neighbouringcountries, Caribbeans, Indo-Pacific nations on a grant basisas a goodwill gesture but commercial sales are alsohappening'', he said.

Roughly 75 countries have asked or signed contractswith vaccine producers and ''our prime minister has made itclear that we will look after our people but we are also therefor the world'', the external affairs minister said.