Shillong, 26 November 2024- United States Consulate General Kolkata and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), hosted the Meghalaya Chapter as part of their ongoing 18-month project United States Indo-Pacific Strategy: North-Eastern Dialogues (USIPS NED) on 26 November 2024 in Shillong, Meghalaya. This project includes a series of dialogues across India’s Northeast to build awareness about the US Indo-Pacific Strategy in India’s Northeast and analyse its role in developing trade, connectivity, and climate change mitigation in the region, through potential India-US cooperation.
The Meghalaya Chapter convened 37 stakeholders from the Northeast from diverse sectors; government, business groups, civil society, professionals, non-government organisations, media, academia, and students. Among the 37 stakeholders; 27, joined in-person and 10 joined digitally. Notable attendees included Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary; Forest and Environment Department, Government of Meghalaya; Reiwad Wajiri, Former Ambassador of India and Distinguished Dellow Asian Confluence, Meghalaya; Nilanjan Ghosh, Director Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata; among others.
The one-day Meghalaya Chapter focused on assessing the region's trade, and physical and digital connectivity. Particular attention was on surface connectivity infrastructure, vital for connecting the Northeast to the Indo-Pacific via the Bay of Bengal. Given the region’s vulnerability to climate change, the Meghalaya Dialogue highlighted sustainable infrastructure practices resilient to climate-related risks.
In his deliberations, Nilanjan Ghosh stated, “The USIPS NED Meghalaya Chapter, attempts to address the trade-off between economic development and ecology. The aim is to bring forth innovative solutions in the field of trade, connectivity, infrastructure, and climate resilience that meet the aspirations of the people belonging to the Northeast and understand how the U.S Indo-Pacific Strategy can contribute to this effort, which should be treated as a two-way interaction that produces tailor-made approaches to tap its potential in economic, geographic, strategic and cultural sectors.”
Sampath Kumar stated, “The USIPS NED Meghalaya Chapter holds special significance because we are seeing a nexus of collaborations and responsibilities that can foster a swift response for the overall development of the region, vis-a-vis its position in the Indo- Pacific. This dialogue will form a foundation for unleashing the potential for upcoming development projects. The role of these dialogues is to provide an enabling environment that fosters growth, especially within the youth, as 49% of Meghalaya’s population is below the age of 18, making the role of the youth demographic dividend imperative in contributing to Shillong regaining its image as an intellectual capital.”
The Inception Meeting under this initiative was organised by the Observer Research Foundation on 30 September 2024 in Kolkata, West Bengal. It brought together experts from Northeast India and Kolkata to discuss the course of the project and served as a platform for experts to contribute to the design of Pre- and Post-Dialogue Surveys.
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