Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Northeastern region is witnessing unprecedented progress and the government is determined to accelerate its growth story.
Addressing the 'Rising North East Investors Summit' here, he also said that diversity of the Northeast is its biggest strength and that the region is emerging as the frontrunner of growth.
"The Northeast is witnessing unprecedented progress. We are determined to accelerate its growth story," he said while inaugurating the two-day event which is being attended by chief ministers of the region, union ministers, bureaucrats, diplomats among others.
Top industry leaders Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Anil Agarwal among others attended the inaugural session.
Modi said for his government, EAST means - "Empower, Act, Strengthen and Transform".
"There was a time when Northeast was only called frontier, now it is frontrunner of growth," he said.
He said the Northeast was earlier synonymous with bombs, guns and rockets which took away many opportunities from youths there.
"Over 10,000 youths in the Northeast have given up violence in last decade," he said.
Prime Minister Modi also said that his government follows a zero tolerance policy, be it terrorism or Naxalism.
The summit is being organised with an aim of highlighting the Northeast region as a land of opportunity, attracting global and domestic investment and bringing together key stakeholders, investors, and policy-makers on a single platform, officials said.
The event is the culmination of various pre-summit activities, such as series of roadshows, and states' roundtables, including ambassador's meet and bilateral chambers meet organised by the central government with active support from the state governments of the Northeastern region.
The summit will include ministerial sessions, business-to-government sessions, business-to-business meetings, start ups and exhibitions of policy and related initiatives taken by state governments and central ministries for investment promotion, officials said.
The main focus sectors of investment promotion include tourism and hospitality, Agro-food processing and allied sectors, textiles, handloom and handicrafts, healthcare, education and skill development, information technology and information technology enabled services, infrastructure and logistics, energy, entertainment and sports.
