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Northeast India sharing borders with five neighbouring countries, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, and the Himalayan countries of Nepal and Bhutan, is proverbially known as India’s “Gateway to the East”. India’s ‘Act East’ and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policies hinge on this region. Due to its strategic location as a land bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia, the area plays a pivotal role in realising the country’s vision of the Indo-Pacific characterised by ASEAN centrality. In recent years, the United States (US) has shown increasing interest in Northeast India, as its geo-strategic potential aligns with its broader goals of maintaining a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific, making it necessary to collaborate with India to develop this region.
In this context, the Observer Research Foundation in partnership with the United States Consulate General in Kolkata has launched the 18-month-long “United States Indo-Pacific Strategy: North-Eastern Dialogues” (USIPS NED). This project aims to enhance awareness of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy in India’s Northeast and understand the prospects of India-US cooperation in advancing trade, connectivity, and resilience to climate change in the region. It engages a range of stakeholders—including government bodies, private business houses, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups, and, most significantly, the youth of the Northeast. The project encompasses six policy dialogues in each of the Northeastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Sikkim, Tripura, Mizoram, and Manipur, and two national level dialogues in Kolkata and New Delhi, engaging 200 participants (with women constituting 50 percent) from a variety of sectors. The first regional dialogue was concluded in Meghalaya on 26 November 2024.
The second regional dialogue was the Assam Chapter, held as a day-long event at the Radisson Blu, Guwahati, Assam, on 13 December 2024. The Inaugural Session began with a Welcome Address by Anirban Sarma, Director of the Digital Societies Initiative & Deputy Director of ORF Kolkata. Gloria Berbena, Minister-Counselor for Public Diplomacy, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi delivered a Special Address, followed by Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury, Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation and Project In-Charge USIPS NED, who introduced the project. The session highlighted Assam's central role in strengthening connectivity between the Northeastern states and the Bay of Bengal, the need for climate-resilient infrastructure building, disaster management, inclusive environmental governance, and the need to include marginalised voices in preserving the region's natural and cultural heritage.
The Assam Chapter witnessed the participation of 37 stakeholders among whom 10 attended digitally. The event was structured around three-panel discussions. After each of the second and third panel discussions, there were three parallel breakout sessions, to facilitate more focused discussions among the participants. Additionally, the stakeholders completed two survey questionnaires: A pre-conference survey to capture their initial opinions and a post-conference survey to assess if and how their views had evolved after participating in the discussions.
The first panel discussion was on “Northeast India on The World Stage: High Grounds for India-US ties”, featuring Gloria Berbena; Pahi Saikia Professor, Department of Political Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam; Jaideep Saikia, Security and Terrorism Analyst, Assam; Anirban Roy, Editor-in-Chief, Northeast News, Assam. Sohini Bose, Associate Fellow, ORF, and Project Coordinator USIPS NED was the moderator. The points highlighted were: the importance of Indo-U.S. collaboration for a free-open and prosperous Indo-Pacific; Assam’s strategic role in the Bay of Bengal region, and the potential of public-private partnerships to harness its rich cultural heritage, skilled workforce, and natural resources for economic growth.
The second-panel discussion, titled “Northeast Nexus: Weaving Assam into the Trade Network,” was moderated by Anirban Sarma and brought together distinguished panellists like Basu Chandola, Associate Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (virtual); Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, Northeast Frontier Railway, Assam; Subir Kumar Sen, Professor, Department of Commerce, Tripura University, Tripura (virtual); and Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury. The panellists emphasised the need for community-centric, sustainable infrastructure development in the Northeast, focusing on building railways, roads, and digital networks to boost trade, crucial for Assam’s growth as a hub of trade and connectivity. This set the stage for the subsequent breakout sessions, delving into key facets of trade connectivity.
Breakout Session I was on “Trade Trails of Northeast India: Linking Local to Global”. It was moderated by Saswati Choudhury, Director I/C, Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development, Assam. It explored the Northeast’s trade connectivity challenges, geopolitical tensions, regulatory barriers, infrastructure gaps, and maritime trade risks. Breakout Session II was moderated by Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury and it focused on “The Infrastructure Frontier: Northeast India’s Connectivity Needs”. The discussions brought forth the importance of enhancing Indo-Pacific maritime trade and improving railway connectivity with neighbouring countries, particularly Bangladesh. Anirban Sarma moderated Breakout Session III: “Soft Connectivity in Northeast India”, deliberating the need for better internet connectivity, and digital awareness.
The expert panellists in the third-panel discussion on “Climate Conversations” included Rituraj Phukon, Founder, Indigenous People's Climate Justice Forum, Co-Founder, Smily Academy & National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India, Assam; Anup Shekhar Chakraborty, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, North East Hill University; Rakhee Kalita Moral, Professor, Centre for Women's Studies, Cotton University, Assam, and Arkajyoti Majumder, Journalist, Tripura Times. The session was moderated by Aparna Roy, Fellow and Lead for Climate Change and Energy at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy, ORF. The discussion facilitated an exchange of ideas on building sustainable and inclusive climate resilience.
Breakout Session I “Community First: Tackling Climate Change & Disaster Risks in Northeast India” was moderated by Kaustubh Kumar Deka, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Dibrugarh University, Assam. It highlighted rising climatic disasters in the Northeast and the need for resilience and sustainable disaster management for regional development. Breakout Session II on “Scope for Transboundary Cooperation in Climate Change: Role of Assam” was moderated by Anup Shekhar Chakraborty. Sustainable living and transboundary climate cooperation in Northeast India were discussed, identifying challenges like geopolitical tensions and policy divergences, and opportunities for joint management of shared ecosystems and river basins. Breakout Session III: “Resilient Foundations: Infrastructure in Northeast India’s Changing Climate”, was moderated by Aparna Roy. It emphasised the need to bridge infrastructure gaps while maintaining ecological balance.
After the Breakout Sessions, a virtual interactive session was held on “Situating India’s Northeast in the Indo-Pacific Story”, featuring Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade and Economics), Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, in conversation with Soumya Bhowmick, Fellow, ORF, Kolkata. The discussion dwelt on the Northeast’s scope for fostering sustainable trade within the Indo-Pacific- home to nearly half the world's population and 60 percent of the global economy.
To understand the youth perspective from the Northeast, a group of research scholars observed the day-long proceeding and identified key recommendations, they deemed significant for the region’s future. They presented these suggestions in the final segment of the dialogue- the “Scholars’ Audit Report”.
In the closing session, Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury summarised highlights of the day-long deliberations, emphasisng the Northeast’s potential as a driver of economic integration, cultural exchange, and regional stability, within the broader Indo-Pacific framework. This fruitful exchange of ideas in Guwahati, set the tone for the upcoming third policy dialogue in Tripura, poised to build upon these deliberations.
This event report has been authored by Sohini Bose, Associate Fellow, ORF Kolkata and Project Coordinator USIPS NED, and Ayas Bose, Research Intern, ORF Kolkata.
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