Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma met foreign dignitaries in Delhi for the Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit, aiming to attract investments in various sectors and showcase Assam's growth.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was in Delhi Tuesday to meet 36 foreign d🌳ignitaries in the run-up to the Advantage Assam 2.0 Summit to be held on February 25 and 26, said his aim behind holding the event was to take them to the state and ask them where and in what sector they wanted to invest in.
“From semi-conductor industry to tourism, everything was discussed. For us it will be a big opportunity to showcase Assam,” Sarma said. He said President , Prime Minister , Finance Minister and Minister of External Af✨fairs S Jaishankar will be pr✤esent during the summit.
While promising green power to investors in Assam, he refrained from pointing out priority sectors, saying, “We are not in a position to tell investors to choose this or that sector. I am…allowing them to choose where to invest.” He said Assam is a great destination for a possible defence corridor, as demand for the same is there. “I want the third largest defence corridor there, after and . More than half the ammunition of the defence 🐼forces is💦 in the Northeast. Where there is demand, there should also be local supply,” he said.
Asked whether strategic partnerships with foreign investors were his priority, Sarma sa💦id he wasn’🐻t looking at it right now in view of the situation in Bangladesh and Myanmar, and its consequent implications.
In his keynote address to ambassadors, High Commissioners of , , European and other countries, industry captains and other stakeholders, Sarma 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 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 of𝓀 12.5%.” He said the government would create a corpus fund for production-linked incentive of `25,000 crore for ushering in rapid industrialization 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. Sarma 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 als🌄o be present.