India’s Northeast region holds immense potential to enhance the country’s connectivity with the wider Indo-Pacific. However, the region faces significant challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure and low levels of cross-border trade. The U.S. Strategic Framework for the Indo- Pacific: North Eastern Dialogue aims to build awareness about the US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific in India’s Northeast and its role in developing trade, connectivity, and economic prosperity in the region, through potential India-US cooperation.
The project engages over 200 stakeholders from various sectors across the Northeast. Through policy dialogues at both regional and national levels, it aims to create a comprehensive understanding of the region’s challenges and opportunities in connectivity, trade, and economic prosperity. A major focus of the Dialogue is assessing the region's physical and digital connectivity. Particular attention is on riverine and maritime infrastructure, vital for connecting the Northeast to the Indo-Pacific via the Bay of Bengal. The project explores ways in which India-US cooperation can enhance trade logistics and fill infrastructural gaps.
Given the region’s long-standing economic concerns, the project also cultivates possible collaborative endeavours that can enhance the growth of the region. Stakeholder engagement is crucial to identifying the prevailing challenges in each of the selected states and collaborative measures that can be undertaken to mitigate them, such as by enhancing people-to-people connectivity through India-US cooperation. The project seeks ways to harness the potential of India’s Northeast, promoting a more connected and economically prosperous region while contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
09:30 - 10:00 (IN)
10:00 - 10:45 (IN)
Welcome Address by Nilanjan Ghosh, Vice President, Development Studies and ORF Kolkata and Project Director USSFIP North Eastern Dialogue
Inaugural Address by Ambassador/ Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in India
Special Address by Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State, Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region
Special Address by Sunjoy Joshi, Chairman, ORF
Project Introduction by Nilanjan Ghosh
10:45 - 11:00 (IN)
11:00 - 11:30 (IN)
Subhashini Narayanan, Joint Secretary, Indo-Pacific Division, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India 'In-Conversation’ with Harsh V Pant, Vice President - ORF and Studies at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi
11:30 - 11:45 (IN)
11:45 - 13:15 (IN)
Moderator: Nilanjan Ghosh
Presentation of Report Findings by Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury, Senior Fellow, Neighborhood Studies Initiative, ORF Kolkata and Project In- Charge, USSFIP North Eastern Dialogue
Panellists Remarks
● Rakhee Bhattacharjee, Professor, Special Centre for the Study of North East India, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi
● Winfred Warshong, Deputy Director (technical), Commerce and Industries Department, Government of Meghalaya, Shillong, Meghalaya
● Rupsikha Borah Saikia, Director, Assam Industrial Development Corporation Limited, Government of Assam, Guwahati, Assam
● C. Subhakar Rao, Additional Chief Secretary, Tourism, Civil and Aviation Department, Government of Sikkim, Gangtok, Sikkim
● Yumnam Robita, Director of Trade, Commerce & Industries, Government of Manipur, West Imphal, Manipur
● Dipayan Ghosh, Chief Operating Officer, Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission, Government of Tripura, Agartala, Tripura
Interaction with Audience
13:15 - 14:00 (IN)
14:00 - 15:30 (IN)
Moderator:
Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury
Presentation of Report Findings by Sohini Bose, Associate Fellow, Neighborhood Studies Initiative, Strategic Studies Programme, and Project Coordinator, USSFIP North Eastern Dialogue
Panellists Remarks
● Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northeast Frontier Railway, Assam
● Garima Gupta, Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Commerce and Industries, Government of Mizoram, Mizoram
● Kirran Gitte, Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Tripura
● Jayant Singh, Chairman, Land Port Authority of India, New Delhi
● Sunil Paliwal, Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India, India
● Ranjana Khanna, Director General & CEO, American Chamber of Commerce, New Delhi, Delhi
Interaction with Audience
15:30 - 15:45 (IN)
15:45 - 16:05 (IN)
Abigail Bard, Quad Team Coordinator U.S. Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Office of India and Bhutan Affairs, USA (virtual)
Jeffrey Wang, Quad Team Lead, Political Officer, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Regional and
Security Policy (EAP/RSP), USA (virtual)
16:05 - 16:15 (IN)
16:15 - 17:30 (IN)
Moderator: Harsh V Pant
Panellists Remarks
● Sanjoy Hazarika, Professor, IIM Shillong, Meghalaya
● Durba Ghosh, Bureau Chief, Press Trust of India, Guwahati, Assam
● Brij Bhushan Agarwal, President ICC & Chairman and Managing Director, Shyam Metalics and Energy Limited, New Delhi
● Syed S. Kazi, Director, Council for Social & Digital Development, Assam
● Chetan Bijesure, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI, New Delhi
● Sherry Lalthangzo, Economic Advisor, North Eastern Council, Shillong, Meghalaya
Interaction with Audience
17:30 - 17:40 (IN)
17:40 - 18:10 (IN)
