ASEAN Calling: Development of India`s NorthEast through Subregional Cooperation

This book deals with the prospect and potential of development of India’s NorthEastern Region (NER)   through subregional cooperation with the neighbouring members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Although landlockedness has long stunted the economic growth of NER, with ASEANIndia as well as IndiaBangladesh connectivity projects gathering pace, the silver lining is appearing on the horizon. The completion of IndiaMyanmarThailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway connecting Moreh (Manipur) with Mae Sot (Thailand) across Myanmar will landlink the region with the ASEAN countries. Further extension of the Highway till Vietnam and Cambodia, as is being envisaged, will take the northeastern region even closer to the ASEAN. Likewise, India is extending railways to Manipur which will eventually be connected with the rail network of Myanmar as a part of the Asian Development Bank’s TransAsian Railway project. Besides, the Kaladan MultiModal Transit Transportation Project (KMTTP) will open up maritime route for the northeastern region by connecting India`s eastern ports with the Sittwe port in Myanmar. Again, Sittwe port will be connected with the riverine port of Paletwa on Kaladan river from where Lawngtlai in Mizoram will be connected by road.

With the connectivity problem about to be resolved, in what ways would the northeastern region engage with her South East Asian neighbours? What are the nodes of subregional cooperation that can benefit both NER and ASEAN? How can we enumerate and strategize the potential strength of the region which she can offer to her neighbours and identify the essential requirements that she can pick up from them? What role the other stakeholders (state and nonstate actors) can play in synchronizing domestic economic initiatives in tune with the needs of the markets in neighbouring countries? How to map the various activity, product, service, specific strengths of the different states in the region for which there are demands across the borders? Which crossborder projects are viable? How can we reimagine the `border` as a conceptual apparatus for bridgability rather than a dividing entity of people on either side? How can the community bonding be used to promote a uniform social space in a group which is territorially divided?