India, Japan kick-start new forum for eco development of NE

India and Japan today held the first meeting under the newly established 'Act East Forum' set up to identify specific projects for economic development of the Northeastern region.
During Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to India in September, both sides had signed an agreement to establish the India-Japan Act East Forum.
The meeting of the forum today was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"The Act East Forum aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under the rubric of India's 'Act East Policy' and Japan's 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy'," the MEA said in a statement.

It said the forum will identify specific projects for economic modernisation of the Northeast region including those pertaining to connectivity, infrastructure, industrial linkages as well as people-to-people contacts.
Participants at the meeting included representatives from Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Home Affairs and the States of Northeast region.
The Japanese side included representatives of Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan External Trade Organization, Japan Foundation and Japan National Tourism Organization.