The new government has made development of the North East a priority, appointing a minister General V.K. Singh for the purpose. The long-neglected region’s geographical distance and complex political dynamics have made its integration with the rest of the country difficult. Gateway House anticipated a push to integrate the region and in 2011, Akshay Mathur, head of research and geo-economics fellow at Gateway House, published a research paper called ‘A winning strategy’ for the North East. The paper outlines a bold development strategy for the North East, recommending initiatives such as development of a connectivity corridor called the Seven Sisters’ Corridor establishing linkages with Thailand and other ASEAN countries.
On June 30, Gateway House hosted a roundtable discussion with Assam MP Gaurav Gogoi, son of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Titled ‘Corporate India: engagement with Assam’ the discussion centered on political issues and economic and strategic opportunities in the complex northeastern region that has so far lagged behind and remained unintegrated with the rest of the country.
This meeting was part of the MP Engagement Series hosted by Gateway House.
Gaurav Gogoi is an MP from Kaliabor, Assam, where he defeated the BJP’s Mrinal Saikia in the 2014 general elections. He is the son of Tarun Gogoi, Assam’s longest serving Chief Minister. He studied Public Administration in the US from New York University in 2008, and had a brief stint as a policy aide with the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in New York. He is the Founding Secretary of two NGOs – Farm2Food Foundation, and Youth Forum on Foreign Policy, and is also one of the directors of Guwahiti-based media group Eclectic Publications.
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