Guwahati: The United States Consulate General Kolkata, in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), hosted the ‘Assam Chapter of the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy: North-Eastern Dialogues’ (USIPS NED) in Guwahati.
This event is part of an 18-month initiative titled, “Harnessing the Potential of India’s Northeast: Fostering US-India Collaboration in Trade, Connectivity, and Climate Change.”
The project aims to build awareness of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy in Northeast India and explore its potential to advance trade, connectivity, and climate change mitigation through India-US cooperation.
The Assam Chapter of the USIPS NED, the second in a series of 6 dialogues, convened with 37 stakeholders of which 50% were women.
The participants hailed from diverse sectors, including government, businesses, civil society, NGOs, media, academia, and research scholars.
Among the stakeholders, 28 attended in-person, and 9 participated digitally.
Gloria Berbena, Minister-Counselor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, delivered a Special Address during the inaugural session, which was chaired by Anirban Sarma, Director of the Digital Societies Initiative at ORF and Deputy Director ORF Kolkata.
In his opening remarks, Anirban Sarma highlighted, “Development and growth are outcomes of natural, human, and physical capital. In each of these areas, Assam has much to offer to India and its northeastern region.”
Gloria Berbena emphasized the importance of fostering India-US collaboration, stating, “Exploring a range of collaborative activities, including enhancing interoperability between Indo-Pacific stakeholders in the Bay of Bengal region and Northeast India, aligns with the latter’s aspirations for greater economic growth.”
Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury, Senior Fellow and Project Lead, USIPS NED, underscored the importance of enhanced connectivity in Northeast India while noting that the security-development conundrum often hampers progress. She advocated for a robust and well-connected framework to unlock the region’s full potential.
The one-day event featured several experts and focused on boosting trade and improving physical and digital connectivity in Northeast India, a region crucial for linking India to the Indo-Pacific via the Bay of Bengal.
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Experts also addressed the challenges posed by Assam’s unique geography, including natural disasters like flooding, deforestation, and soil erosion, and discussed strategies to balance development with climate change mitigation, for sustainable growth.
