Belarus and Tanzania to act as "ambassadors of Arunachal Pradesh”

The mission heads of Belarus and Tanzania will act as ambassadors of Arunachal Pradesh.

This was said by two Indian diplomats - Alok Ranjan Jha, Honorable Ambassador of India to the Republic of Belarus and Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, High Commissioner of India to Tanzania at a business summit organized on October 17 at
the Arunachal Pradesh Innovation & Investment Park (APIIP) in Itanagar.

The ‘Arunachal Pradesh Business Summit – 2022’ was a niche’ event organized to present the investment opportunities in Arunachal to two Indian diplomats - Alok Ranjan Jha, Honorable Ambassador of India to the Republic of Belarus and Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, High Commissioner of India to Tanzania.

The business summit was part of the overall visit plan by the diplomats to explore development and investment opportunities in Arunachal. The visit was facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India as part of the 10th Heads of Nations Conference being held in Gujarat.

The dignitaries had a positive interaction with all stakeholders. While appreciating the efforts of APIIP, they said that they had an “overwhelming welcoming experience” and are ready to act as “ambassadors of Arunachal Pradesh” in future.

Binaya Srikanta Pradhan said that while “Arunachal Pradesh is in the right point of history”, there need to be persistent efforts to come up with investible projects that can be marketed to the Indian diaspora abroad.

Alok Ranjan Jha stated that there is immediate potential for trade between Belarus and Arunachal in the sectors of tourism, Agri & food processing and textiles & handicraft. However, the potential itself will not be enough and needs concerted efforts to develop connectivity, make lands available, improve infrastructure and take up proper marketing of products.

Both dignitaries thought that Arunachal’s kiwis, apples, oranges, lard cardamom, etc. needed to be promoted better in both domestic and international markets.

The dignitaries also invited delegations of the State to visit Belarus and Tanzania to see their commercial markets first-hand and facilitate business-to-business meetings for greater cooperation in the future.

Tabe Haidar, CEO of APIIP and Joint Director (Investment) organized the summit to bring in key State Departments to showcase the strengths of Arunachal comprehensively. The summit began with the welcome address and keynote speech by Prashant Lokahnde, Commissioner (Planning) who talked about the key investment sectors of Arunachal, namely hydropower, hydrocarbon, tourism and agri-Horti. Mentioning Arunachal as “an island of peace”, Lokhande highlighted Arunachal’s hospitality and quick adoption of modernity despite being rooted in traditions.

Tabe Haidar made a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted the key investment sectors including agri-Horti & food processing, tourism, hydrocarbon, hydropower, textiles & handicrafts and IT. He also illustrated the success stories of EoDB and startup facilitation in the State.

The presentation was followed by discussions with various stakeholders including the startups and businesspersons present, members from Arunachal Junior Chambers International (JCI), Arunachal Chamber of Commerce and Senior Officers from Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Marketing Board (APAMB), Departments of Textiles & Handicraft, Sericulture, Agriculture, and Tourism. The discussions focused on the State’s advantageous geo-strategic location for international trade, potential in bamboo, Agri-Horti products, oil palm, organic sericulture and rejuvenation of Stillwell Road.

RK Sharma, Additional Secretary, Planning & Investment, said the Government is determined to make Arunachal an investment hub in the long term. He said the State Government and the Planning and Investment Division are working diligently to create a niche for Arunachal Pradesh in the Nation’s business and startup ecosystem, towards an Atmanirbhar Arunachal.

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