Assam Invites 31 Countries For Joint Investment In Key Sectors Ahead Of Global Investment Summit

The Assam government has invited foreign countries and industry leaders, both from India and abroad, to invest in the state.

New Delhi: The Assam government on Tuesday invited 31 Asian-Bimstec, European and other countries for joint investment in the fields of oil, power, textile, tourism, agro-processing and silk among others. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma interacted with the representatives of the Asian-Bimstec, European and other countries and encouraged them to come and invest in the State.

In fact, Sarma has launched a mission to attract domestic and international investors for the Global Investment Summit scheduled to be held in Guwahati on February 25 and 26. “To further encourage companies to set their base in Assam, we are setting up a corpus of Rs 25,000 crore for Profit Linked Incentive (PLI), which will be offered to various industries,” said Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

During interaction with the representatives of several other countries here, the Assam government discussed the scope of investment into the State. Sarma chaired a round table conference with the representatives of foreign countries and offered them all possible support to set up industries in the State.

With Myanmar, the Assam government discussed expanding border trade through the Moreh-Tamu and other border trade points to include more commodities, particularly Assam’s tea, agro-products and handloom items.

“Explore collaboration on the Indo-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and enhance Assam’s connectivity to Myanmar for seamless transport of goods. Discussed joint promotion of Buddhist Circuit Tourism, linking sites in Myanmar with Assam’s historical and spiritual sites like Sualkuchi and Kamakhya temple,” an official told ETV Bharat.

Given Singapore’s leadership in sustainability and green technologies, according to the official, Assam could collaborate on projects related to renewable energy, green hydrogen and sustainable agriculture. Assam with its rich biodiversity, could partner with Singapore on environmental conservation and eco-tourism initiatives.

During its discussion with Sri Lanka, the Assam government discussed collaboration in tourism and hospitality. “With Sri Lanka’s expertise in tourism, Assam could collaborate to enhance eco-tourism, cultural tourism and adventure tourism. Joint promotional campaigns and capacity-building initiatives could position Assam as a prime destination for Sri Lankan tourists and vice versa,” the official said.

Chief Minister Sarma also discussed investment opportunities with European countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Representatives of other countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Czech Republic, Oman, the US-India Business Council and Brazil also discussed the scope for investment in Assam.

During its discussion with the United Arab Emirates on the energy and hydrocarbon sector, emphasis has been laid on leveraging the UAE’s expertise in the oil, LNG and LPG sectors to establish joint ventures and training programmes in Assam’s petroleum and natural gas industry.

“The interaction with UAE also emphasised the trade and investment sector where opportunities have been explored for UAE’s sovereign wealth funds to invest in Assam’s industrial and infrastructure projects, including Smart Cities and transportation,” an official said.

It is worth mentioning that Chief Minister Sarma also interacted with industry leaders in Mumbai last week in connection with the Global Investment Summit scheduled to be held in Guwahati next month. He also took part in road shows in Mumbai in this connection.