'Yunnan of India': Assam aims to be gateway to South-east Asia

An Indian Muslim man distributing food for Iftar at the Burah Majid in Guwahati city in Assam, on May 17, 2018. With a population of 33 million, Assam is the biggest and fastest-growing among the eight states in north-east India.
An Indian Muslim man distributing food for Iftar at the Burah Majid in Guwahati city in Assam, on May 17, 2018. With a population of 33 million, Assam is the biggest and fastest-growing among the eight states in north-east India.PHOTO: AFP
Published
Jul 18, 2018, 12:06 pm SGT
Deputy Foreign Editor
lingch@sph.com.sg

GUWAHATI (Assam state) - Getting Asean nations to set up consulates in Assam is one of the targets the north-eastern Indian state hopes to achieve as part of the country's efforts to boost ties with the 10-nation regional bloc.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps up momentum for his Act East Policy - a transformation of the previous Look East Policy which focuses on strengthening links between India and South-east Asia - plans are already in place to start direct flights between Assam's capital city Guwahati and some Asean capital cities before November this year.

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