ACT EAST POLICY AND NORTHEAST: THE ROAD AHEAD

The idea behind developing “Act East Policy” is to boost the economic and social conditions of Northeast India, as well as to improve the trading relations of India with Southeast Asian countries. The primary aim of the policy is to revive the political ties, receive regional security cooperation and developing trading relations for integration with Southeast Asia. The significance of the Northeast region had increased in this policy due to its cultural and historic ties as well as strategic geographical positioning in Southeast Asia. Northeast Today writes in dept about the policy and its possibilities

Last year in the month of November 2, in his first official visit to Thailand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Northeast India is being developed as a gateway to Southeast Asia under Central government's Act East Policy (AEP). He also added that the plans are on cards to establish seamless connectivity between Thailand, Myanmar and northeast India in the years to come. Our focus is to connect India's northeast with Thailand. Northeast is being developed as a gateway to Southeast Asia. This initiative will immensely strengthen India's Act East policy and Thailand's Act West Policy, Modi said in his address at the 'Sawasdee PM Modi' event in Bangkok on day one of his visit for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), EAS (East Asia Summit) and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership )Summits.

The Act East Policy has been in discourse and in focus for some time and has created hope in the Northeast region in the backdrop of its close proximity with Southeast Asia whether it is on cultural, social and geographical ground. With the setting up of a department named Act East Policy Department to ensure the implementation of Act East Policy in a time bound manner, one can sense the seriousness of the Government in executing the idea as soon as possible. The policy is not only a shift from ‘west’ to ‘east’ in its perspective, but also a shift from mainland India to Northeast India, a region which is traditionally believed to be neglected by the centre. Act East Policy is a new geographical imagination, where Northeast India and South Asia is one region with many possibilities. This new imagination created much hope and encouragement among the people of Northeast as it eliminates the idea of Northeast India being a periphery region.