Assam CM Showcase State’s Investment Potential Ahead of Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit

Pointing out that President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar will be present during the summit, Mr Sarma who met 36 foreign dignitaries in New Delhi on Tuesday, showcased the potential of the states for investors starting from semiconductor industry to tourism.

Mr Sarma also urged diplomats to come to Assam on February 24 to witness the Jhumur dance to be performed by 8,000 dancers — an event where PM Modi would also be present.

While promising green power to investors in Assam, he said, “We are not in a position to tell investors to choose this or that sector. I am…allowing them to choose where to invest.”

In his keynote address to ambassadors, High Commissioners of ASEAN, BIMSTEC, European and other countries, industry captains and other stakeholders, the chief minister said, “Assam has been making rapid progress in infrastructure, health, education and other sectors in the past 10 years.” He said new infrastructure projects were coming up in the state, including three new bridges over the Brahmaputra, a satellite city around Guwahati with the help of the Singapore government and a railway line from Guwahati to Gelephu, Bhutan. He said, “Assam is one of the strongest growth engines of the country, growing at a rate of 12.5 percent.” He also announced that the government would create a corpus fund for production-linked incentive of `25,000 crore for ushering in rapid industrialisation in the state. Assam was actively engaged in discussions with the Ministry of Defence for declaration of the adjoining areas of Guwahati towards Nagaon as defence corridor.

In his attempt to make it a grand success, a team led by Assam IT and science and technology minister Keshab Mahanta, held the second leg of an international roadshow on Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit in Thailand on Friday.

This has come after the successful road shows in Bhutan, Mumbai and New Delhi.

The Indian embassy in the Thai capital, Bangkok, in a social media post said that the Assam delegation held a fruitful interaction with representatives of the hospitality and tourism industry in Thailand.

Mr Mahanta also met with Thailand's vice-minister for foreign affairs Russ Jalichandra and explored opportunities to strengthen Assam-Thailand ties. He also held a meeting in Bangkok with Krisda Tanterdtit, secretary to the Thai minister of tourism and sports. The discussions focused on exploring potential collaborations between Assam and Thailand.