Speaking at the Look East Summit here, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Gen. Singh said: “As we complete almost 20 years of Look East policy, it is an opportune moment to reflect…on the progress that we have achieved vis-à-vis our stated objectives and take stock of the benefits that have flown to the country in this while.
“Theoretically, India can pursue a successful Look East policy even without engaging the Northeast,” but “India has to look east also through the Northeast,” Gen. Singh said.
“The North Eastern Region Vision 2020 document has correctly identified that Southeast Asia begins where Northeast India ends, and therefore, it has to play the arrowhead role in further evolution of this policy. This part of the country has 98 per cent of its land boundaries with international neighbours.”
“As the Vision 2020 document mentions, the 39 million people of this region have an ambitious vision: by 2020, they aspire to see their region emerge peaceful, strong, confident and ready to engage with the global economy,” Gen. Singh said.
“The ministry of DoNER has rightly identified this as a potential area for inclusion under the Look East policy and has been advocating exchange programmes between students of Northeast India and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the proposal for teaching Southeast Asian languages in northeastern universities and providing seats to students from S-E Asia in prestigious Indian institutes of academic excellence like the IITs and IIMs is being examined,” he added.