Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today called for exploring new opportunities and asked to take advantage of what the immediate neighbour has to offer to facilitate economic growth.
"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.
Stating that the boundary protocol which was signed by both the countries is awaiting ratification in the Parliament, Mukul said once it is done, the boundary will be delineated on the ground.
"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.
