WWW.EASTERNMIRRORNAGALAND.COM EASTERN MIRROR Freedom of expression should ĺ+ASPKJEO&J@E=OKBł?E=H Merciless Muguruza storms not hurt others — Naidu | P8 entry for Oscars 2018 | P10 into Tokyo semis | P11 NATION ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS VOL. XVI NO. 260 | PAGES 12 ` 4/- RNI NO. NAGENG/2002/07906 DIMAPUR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2017 NE Connectivity Summit: Act East through Nagaland Our Correspondent government of India. the summit, Zeliang invit- cil (NEC) secretary, Ram Kohima, Sep. 22 (EMN): Zeliang said the ed them to explore differ- Muivah, in his special ad- The fourth edition of the Northeast region is en- ent investment opportuni- dress, expressed concern North East Connectiv- dowed with rich forest ties in Nagaland. over connectivity chal- ity Summit got under- and other natural resourc- Minister Economics, lenges in the region. He way today in Kohima at es such as gas, oil, coal, Embassy of Japan, Kenko highlighted various im- the NBCC Convention lime stones etc. He also Sone in his brief speech at portant NEC funded road Centre. The event is an mentioned that besides the summit said NE India development projects initiative of the Federa- tea, the region has the po- is located at a strategically in different parts of the tion of Indian Chambers tential to make India the and economically impor- region including Naga- of Commerce & Industry largest exporter of coffee, tant juncture between In- land and voiced dismay involving the eight states cardamom, pepper and dia and Southeast Asia as at those where the works of the region- Nagaland, spices. well as within BIMSTEC were being held up, advo- Manipur, Assam, Tripura, “With the right inter- countries (Bay of Ben- cating for expediting the Arunachal Pradesh, Meg- vention, the region has the gal Initiative for Multi- process. halaya, Mizoram and Sik- capacity of turning into a Sectoral Technical and He made a mention of kim- to bring them togeth- premier rice bowl of the Economic Cooperation) the ongoing construction er to collectively share country under Agri-allied including Bangladesh, In- of 4-lane road between ideas of development and sector,” the Chief Minis- dia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kohima and Dimapur connectivity so as to con- ter said. Another strong Thailand, Bhutan and and expressed excitement nect with one another and point, he said, was the Nepal. Therefore, he said, that once completed, it beyond national and in- region’s high literacy rate, Japan has placed a par- would open up seamless ternational borders. More which presents a vast res- EM Images ticular importance on the connectivity and an enor- than 300 delegates are ervoir of educated and Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio, Chief Minister TR Zeliang and FICCI secretary general Sanjaya Baru during the release of FICCI knowledge papers cooperation in NE region mous opportunity for the attending the summit, in- dynamic work force, ‘pro- ĂƚƚŚĞŽŶŐŽŝŶŐƚǁŽͲĚĂLJEŽŶŶĞĐƟǀŝƚLJ^ƵŵŵŝƚŝŶ<ŽŚŝŵĂ͘ ranginf from road con- state as well as the region. cluding foreign delegates gressive in outlook and IT nectivity, energy, water In this regard, he also sug- from Japan, Russia, My- savvy’. connecting South East liang said. highlighted the potential project in the state. supply and sewage, forest gested that a similar road anmar, Bhutan, Bangla- Laying emphasis that Asia and the ASEAN Highlighting that the areas that Nagaland offers He urged upon the resource management, should come up between desh and Thailand. India’s Act East Policy countries. region is home to almost including tourism, its rich government of Japan biodiversity, to people Kohima and Imphal. Chief Minister TR Ze- must aim to achieve bet- He stated that mega 60 percent of the coun- biodiversity and natu- who has expressed keen to people exchange and Muivah also reminded liang in his address at the ter connectivity for the projects like the trans- try’s bamboo reserves, he ral resources. He informed interest in the region for post-war reconciliation the authorities present inaugural session of the region, he maintained Eurasian Highway and opined that if scientifi- the gathering of the JICA investments, to also fund projects. about the proposed two-day mega event this that the most practicable the Trans Asian Railway, cally exploited, it can give project (Japanese Interna- the infrastructure road “Japan would like to Greenfield Airports at morning, highlighted the and convenient road and which will pass through a boost to the economy of tional Cooperation Agen- connectivity in the state expand the cooperation Razhüphema and Itana- potentials and strengths rail connectivity between North Eastern areas, will the region. He also point- cy) implemented by the with their modern tech- further in the NER to gar and stressed the need of the region as well as India and South East connect the people of the ed out that with good con- Nagaland Forest Manage- nology as the NE is be- reinforce the friendship to take up the projects ex- the gaps and challenges it Asian countries should region to the world and nectivity, Nagaland can ment Project for address- set with poor soil stabil- among Japan, NER, In- peditiously. faces. run through Nagaland vice-versa. Zeliang also produce the best bamboo ing jhum cultivation, cli- ity and high incidence of dia and the neighbouring He felt that the region “While at this juncture to Moreh border town maintained that the mar- products at much cheaper mate change mitigation, monsoon rains. countries so that each of has missed the earlier it will be seen that our via Imphal. To back his kets of ASEAN countries prices due to the availabil- protection and expansion With the presence of us can enjoy their synergy green revolution as well wants far outweigh what view, he reminded that can be accessed through ity of raw material as well of community conserved a large number of corpo- created by improved con- as IT revolution, but that we collectively have to the decisive and historic Myanmar, and he batted as manpower. forest areas as one of the rates from India and the nectivity,” he concluded. it should catch the bus for offer, it is an undeniable Battle of Kohima fought for building physical con- The chief minister also largest foreign funded neighbouring countries at North Eastern Coun- infrastructure revolution. fact that the huge gap of during the Second World nectivity linkages with requirements can only be War was for the control Myanmar as well as peo- filled with the pro-active of the strategic Moreh- ple to people connectivity. and all out support and Imphal-Kohima-Dimapur “This is where, I believe Northeast has immense potentials — Rio intervention of the gov- route- the most vital route that multilateral agencies ernment of India if our for the Japanese forces to have an important role to Our Correspondent the NE India continues to be a con- been placed behind the mainland the region is fully equipped with long cherished dream of enter the plains of India. play, he added”. Towards Kohima, Sep. 22 (EMN): Mem- sumer region till today.” states due to lack of connectivity. digital connectivity. transforming this region He pointed out that this, he invited delegates ber of Parliament, Lok Sabha, “The NE region is geographi- He categorically stressed the While lamenting on the ab- into a vibrant activity hub Nagaland alone shares from Japan and Russia to Neiphiu Rio Friday said the cally isolated and the mainland need to improve the air connectiv- sence proper digital connectivity, is to be achieved,” Zeliang around 215 km of inter- support the initiatives for Northeast region has immense India looks us as a liability rather ity in the region, and particularly Rio also urged the service provid- stated. national border and the better connectivity and potentials to become an important than being an asset,” he stated. Nagaland. ers to see that the region is well Pointing out that the eight NE states together economic resurgence and destination in the world if at all the Mentioning about the geographi- “Every state capital is entitled equipped with proper and consist- dreams of Look East share over 5300 km of assured Nagaland govern- resources can be exploited to its cal location, Rio also accepted to have an airport, but Kohima is ent connectivity. Policy could have mate- border with five different ment’s support. maximum benefit. some of the difficulties faced by still without one such,” he said. Reiterating the need to con- rialized 10 years ago had countries, and that this “I am also particu- Participating as a resource the region which includes hilly and Mentioning about the poor con- nect NE region with the rest of the there been policy brain- provides the region with larly enthused by one of speaker during the policy forum difficult terrain, excessive rain and nectivity, Rio said “it is easier to world, Rio urged for a collective ef- storming summits such as opportunity to transform the proposals that FICCI session of the Northeast Connec- poor connectivity. reach cities like New Delhi, Kolk- fort from all concerned stakehold- this event, nevertheless, their economies by devel- has been advocating- the tivity Summit 2017 held at NBCC Stating that the lack of proper ata than visit some neighbouring ers. “If we all can concise and put he expressed enthusiasm oping connectivity with North East Ring Road. Convention Centre, Kohima, MP connectivity has been a major set- NE states.” together our mind and efforts, then and hope that the ongo- those countries. Given This road would run par- Rio observed that the NE region back for the region all these years, The lone Nagaland MP also only we can take the region for- ing summit will factor all the geographic position allel to the international is rich but has remained poor till Rio urged the policy makers at the welcomed the four-lane highway ward,” he added.