India's Economic Eastgate

At the Rising Northeast Summit, India pitched its frontier as a future commercial bridge to Southeast Asia, backed by mega investments and bold connectivity dreams

- DIPANKAR DEY

Inaugurating the Rising Northeast Summit, held in New Delhi during May 23-24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday (May 23, 2025) that the region offers a wide range of economic and industrial opportunities. "The Northeast is to be a gateway for trade with Southeast Asia. India's Northeast is not a 'frontier region' anymore; it is the 'frontrunner of growth,'" he added, reports The Hindu. The much-hyped 'Look East' policy, initiated in 1991, also projected the Northeast of India as a 'gateway to East and Southeast Asia.

The Indian Prime Minister said that the Northeast would emerge as a gateway to trade with the ASEAN bloc over the coming decade. "The Northeast will be a strong bridge of trade with Southeast Asia. We are working on the necessary infrastructure to realize that goal," he said, announcing that India is working on projects to directly connect Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos to India. "These projects will give the Northeast a new commercial identity among the Indo-Pacific countries," he added.

According to media reports, Gautam Adani committed to invest an additional Rs 50,000 crore over the next ten years, on top of the Rs 50,000 crore that his group had committed to invest in Assam in February. Reliance Industries Ltd will invest Rs 75,000 crore in the Northeastern states by setting up 350 biogas plants, expanding its telecom services, retail footprint, and clean energy projects, its Chairman Mukesh Ambani promised. Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal announced more than Rs 30,000 crore in investments in the Northeast. Arunachal Pradesh has received investment proposals totaling Rs 6,357 crore through the signing of 16 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) at the Rising Northeast Investors Summit.