Look East Policy, a political and economic inevitability:Lapang

Shillong, Oct 23 (UNI) Meghalaya Chief Minister D D Lapang today said the ''Look East Policy'' was a political and economic inevitability, and ''globalisation and integration are the facts of life in the 21st century''.

Mr Lapang was addressing a seminar on ''Meghalaya -- Its People and the Look East Policy'', attended by senior government officials, entrepreneurs, academicians and non-governmental organisations.

''We, in the North East must see ourselves not as a corridor connecting economies, but as the destination itself, and as an important area of economic interface,'' Mr Lapang said.

Stating that the North East was recognised as an ''economic power house'', Mr Lapang said, ''Geography and history have been kind to us, and we should make use of this proximity to provide infrastructural, technological and economic opportunities to benefit our people.'' Terming his recent visit to Thailand as a ''successful one'', the Chief Minister informed that it is of Thailand's interest to start trade and commercial relations with Meghalaya.

''We have been successful in projecting Meghalaya as a peaceful, vibrant and investor-friendly state and highlighting the opportunities for investment and the framework evolved by the government to encourage, facilitate and catalyse such investment,'' he said.

UNI