Ahead of the Advantage Assam 2 summit, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the biggest hurdle in attracting foreign investment to the state is travel advisories issued by various countries. He said that most nations club Assam with other northeastern states, and advise their citizens to not visit the region including Assam due to the history of terrorism and unrest in the region. The CM added that withdrawal of the advisories is the first step in attracting foreign investment.
Although terrorism has almost ended in Assam, the travel advisory against the state by various nations continues. Several Western nations, including the UK and the US, have Assam in their travel advisories. For example, the US advises its citizens to not travel to Manipur, and reconsider travel to northeastern states due to terrorism and violence.
UK govt also issues similar advisories for Manipur and other states in the region. Similarly, the Canadian govt advises its citizens to not visit Assam and Manipur due to the risk of terrorism and insurgency.
Speaking to the media ahead of the upcoming Advantage Assam 2.0 investment summit, the Chief Minister said that the removal of these advisories is the top priority for facilitating international business engagement. He said that the state govt with the help of the external affairs ministry is talking with several nations to lift the advisories, and some countries are sending teams to the state to assess the situation before taking any decision in this direction.
“Without the withdrawal of the travel advisory, foreign investment is not possible. If someone cannot visit the state as a tourist for seven days, how can one invest in the state,” CM Sarma told the media. He further said that through the initiatives of External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and the state govt, Japan and Australia have already taken steps.
The CM said that a Japanese delegation is currently in Assam, and an Australian team will be arriving in the coming days for the assessment. He added that apart from talking to local police and officials, the delegations may also talk to ordinary citizens including journalists, academicians etc, stressing that it is in the hand of such people who are contacted by the foreign govt representatives to ensure that Assam’s image is improved.
Himanta Biswa Sarma said that if a single journalist or any other such person says that there is no investment environment in Assam, the entire state will suffer. He also added that foreign missions follow regional media for updates on the local situation, therefore media plays a vital role in attracting foreign investment.
CM Sarma said that due to the advisories, Assam attracts far less tourists despite its vast potential in the tourism sector. However, the CM expressed hope that several countries will lift the travel advisory against Assam in the coming month, allowing their investors to visit the state.
