"Bangladesh was the natural market for our products before partition. The partition has had the most debilitating impact on the economy of the entire North East region," Sangma said while addressing the 67th Independence Day celebration at Polo grounds here.
"Studies have shown that the per capita income of the region was higher than the national average before partition," he said, adding that in a globalised and liberalised economic framework, the people should explore new opportunities and take advantage of what our immediate neighbour has.
"This (boundary delineation) is a very healthy development as this would lead to better people-to-people understanding and facilitate growth of commercial and economic relations," he said.
Highlighting that the overall law and order situation in the state was relatively stable and under control in the past one year, the Chief Minister admitted that the internal security situation in the state continues to be a matter of concern.
He said a series of incidents involving militants have vitiated the security environment in certain pockets of the state for which the government "will deal with this challenge with a firm hand.