Agartala: Japanese Ambassador to India Suzuki Hiroshi on Tuesday called on Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and held a detailed discussion on improving the connectivity of North Eastern states with South Asian countries and expansion of business in the region.
He said that Japan Government always gives priority to developing the Northeast region of India and increasing trade and economic activities with neighbouring Bangladesh, and others. The Chief Minister apprised him of the industrial potential of Tripura based on bamboo, agar, and rubber while highlighting the foreign investment potential in health, education, tourism, and human resource management.
While addressing a gathering here in North East India, Bangladesh, and the Bay of Bengal in the Indo-Pacific: Building Partnerships: The Way Forward along with business delegates of Japan, Bangladesh, and India, Suzuki said in the Bay of Bengal region, comprising Bangladesh, Northeast region of India and West Bengal, 300 million people are living where lies a good prospect of trade and economy.
“Bangladesh could be the industrial hub of the Bay of Bengal region. We need industries and investment in the region for the economic growth of the region and it would resolve many issues including the unemployment problem. The under-construction Matarbari deep sea port (in Cox’s Bazar of Southeast Bangladesh) after completion of commissioning in 2027 would give a big push to the water connectivity between the Bay of Bengal region and the rest of the world,” Suzuki attributed.
He opined India’s North East and Bangladesh have the potential to be transformed into a gateway of landlocked countries like Bhutan and Nepal and emerge as the new Industrial value chain in the Bay of Bengal area. Japan has the vision to see Bangladesh and India’s North East flourish as a new economic corridor for the rest of the world.
Suzuki said that Japan had the plan to bring in a greater synergy of Japanese projects active in North East India and Bangladesh and emphasized the importance of the North East in this new strategic partnership. The Matarbari deep sea port will be operational in the next four years the plan is to connect it with Chittagong and North East India through Tripura, which will enable the region to get connected anywhere in the world.
