Kohima | Delegates of G20 countries, diplomats of other foreign countries and CII have expressed willingness to invest in various sectors in Nagaland during the just concluded B20 summit, an official said on Thursday.
Nagaland Chief Minister Rio said that the Bangladesh delegation has expressed interest in purchasing cereals from the state and reviving the Tuli Paper Mill in Mokokchung, where production had stopped in 1982.
The chairman of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) North East Council, Pradeep Bagla said interest was expressed in organic agriculture, skill development, cultural tourism and technology after the conference.
The Nagaland summit was a great success as 60 delegates from 27 countries participated in it. “This was the first time that Nagaland showcased its potential before so many foreign delegates. The rich tradition and culture, agriculture and textiles of the Nagas were shown to the world and its potential was highlighted,” Bagla told PTI.
Four B20 meetings were held as part of the G20 summit in Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Nagaland, where the final one was held in the northeast on Wednesday. It focused on multilateral partnerships in agriculture, food processing, tourism and information technology.
The principal economic advisor in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Rupa Dutta told PTI that interactions were held in both B2B and B2G deliberations under the leadership of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
Nagaland has the potential for organic agriculture, food processing and skill development. A lot of interest has been generated and hopeful of much more investments and employment generation in the state, Dutta said.
The summit, held by the ministry of external affairs and DPIIT and initiated by CII, was to put the focus on the region and to promote its business opportunities. DPIIT is playing the role of a catalyst in promoting investment and promoting infrastructure development in the North East in general, she said.
The president of India Association of Japan, Sanjay Mehrotra said the organisation is interested in infrastructure development work in Nagaland.
Japan wants to invest in sectors like drinking water, garbage and crowd management and tourism industry in Nagaland, he said.
“We have discussed with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio … He was very positive and is keen about the development of Nagaland. He has said he will take a high-profile delegation to Tokyo in the coming months, while Japanese diplomats will visit the state soon to strengthen ties,” Mehrotra said.
The B20 conference was attended by delegates from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Cuba, Estonia, Germany, Iceland and Indonesia. Delegates from Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Srilanka, Turkiye, United Kingdom and the United States also attended.
Focused trade and business delegations from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Iceland, Japan and UAE participated at the B20 conference.
Ambassadors of Cuba, Iceland, Jamaica, Paraguay and Panama, one deputy head of missions from Estonia and two council generals from Costa Rica and Germany also attended the summit.