Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) : Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday called for creating a “conducive” atmosphere in the North East so that the investments could flow to the region. “For investors evincing keen interest in the region, a peaceful atmosphere should be created where they (investors) feel secure,” he said addressing a conclave of Young Leaders Connect (YLC) in Itanagar.
Asking the people of the region to remain united, Rijiju said nothing could work in isolation. “Natural resources can make a region rich, but mismanagement makes it poor. For proper utilization of resources, skill development is the need of the hour,” he said, adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the ‘Look East Policy’ into ‘Act East Policy’. Rijiju said too much negativity prevailed in the North East over the years, which needs to be shed off.
“We have potentials and problems. If we stay together as one, all our problems will be solved. The North East must integrate and help each other in development,” he said. Dwelling on skill development, the minister said the youths of the region do not prefer to be entrepreneurs, but run behind government jobs. “This is because of the appeasement policy of the government which normally cripples them,” he added. They should get skilled to stay empowered, initiate towards entrepreneurship and self-employment. Skill development also make them eligible to avail employment opportunities not only in India but across the world.
“The people of the region feel they are being neglected and are far away from the mainstream. This perspective needs to be changed as there is nothing called ‘side-stream or mainstream’, in fact every village in the country is mainstream India. We need to have confidence on us as equal citizens of the country,” he said. The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs said the North East had tremendous potential of having friendly relations with neighboring countries and all must unite and exist as one.
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