Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday said that the upcoming annual meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC) will focus on strengthening regional cooperation and reviewing the implementation of recommendations made by various sector-specific task forces constituted by the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
Speaking to reporters in Shillong, CM Sangma said the Union Home Minister is scheduled to arrive in the Meghalaya capital on Wednesday evening, while the plenary session of the NEC meeting on Thursday will be attended by chief ministers and governors from across the Northeastern states.
The Chief Minister said discussions during the meeting would centre around reports prepared by task forces that were constituted to examine key sectors critical to the development of the region. He informed that different Northeastern states have been assigned leadership roles in specific sectors such as tourism, youth affairs, trade and related areas.
CM Sangma said Meghalaya would place special emphasis on promoting the Northeast as a unified tourism destination instead of individual states marketing themselves separately. “We want to project the Northeast as one destination so that tourists visiting the region can experience multiple states and destinations seamlessly,” he said.
According to CM Sangma, the meeting is also expected to deliberate on broader developmental and policy matters concerning the region, with both the Union Home Minister and the DoNER Minister likely to raise additional issues during discussions. The Chief Minister further informed that the Union Health Minister is scheduled to visit Meghalaya on June 5.
He also said that the Union Finance Minister is expected to visit Shillong within the next 10 days. CM Sangma additionally confirmed that he would attend the upcoming NITI Aayog meeting to be chaired by the Prime Minister on June 11. The NEC meeting assumes significance as the Centre continues to push for greater regional integration, connectivity and coordinated development initiatives across the Northeastern states.