AIZAWL: Mizoram hosted the B20 conference ‘India Initiatives in the North-East’ on opportunities for multilateral business partnerships in urban planning, infrastructure, bamboo, startups, skill development, nursing and paramedics at Mizoram University, Aizawl, from March 1-3.
The second event of the B20 meeting witnessed the convergence of a host of delegates from 17 nations in addition to Indian and local business participants. Trade and business delegations from Bhutan, Bangladesh and Japan also participated in the event.
Officialdom present
Pu Zoramthanga, Chief Minister of Mizoram; Som Parkash, Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry; and Dr R K Ranjan Singh, Union Minister of State for External Affairs were present at the meeting, as also were senior officials from the State government and the Centre.
Pradeep Bagla, Co-Chairman, CII North East Council welcomed the delegates in the inaugural session. Subsequently, Rupa Dutta, Principal Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Dr Renu Sharma, Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram, addressed the delegates.
In his inaugural speech, the Chief Minister highlighted the opportunities for investments in the state, with emphasis on agriculture, horticulture and forest produce. He stressed that the state had the potential to become a bamboo hub, involving both national and international players.
Rich in agriculture
“Mizoram is rich in agriculture, horticulture and forest products which may be used for industrial development. Besides, the Kaladan Multimodal project connecting Mizoram with the Switte Port in Myanmar, will be a game changer in terms of connectivity in Mizoram “, he said.
He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving opportunity to Mizoram to host the B20 meeting. MoS Som Parkash in his keynote speech highlighted that modernization had helped India in achieving the highest number of cashless transactions in the world. He said India was home to 92,000 recognised startups; out of which 1,000 were from the North-East.
