Efforts are underway to operationalise principal infrastructure links between India and Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV countries) for better economic integration in the region, said a top government official. The secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Guruprasad Mohapatra, said that the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway can serve as a lifeline for the Mekong and North-East region of India. India, Myanmar, and Thailand are working on a 1,400 km long highway that would link the country by land with Southeast Asia and give a boost to business, trade, education, health, and tourism ties among the three countries. At CII’s India-CLMV Business Conclave 2020, Mohapatra said that with a corpus of Rs 554.65 crore, a project development fund was set up to promote trade and investments in CLMV countries as well as to help integrate domestic manufacturers and producers in the regional value chains. In 2019-20, the two-way trade between CLMV countries and India had increased from Rs 8,134.85 crore to Rs 104 billion. The secretary further said that connectivity between the Mekong River region and India will be enhanced by the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project. He added that through the north-eastern frontier of India, the department aims to reach their friends in south-east Asia and in turn achieve development for our partners and people. For developing an export-oriented economy, the natural resource potential of CLMV countries and north-east India offers unique opportunities. This will bring comprehensive industrial development and enhance investment potential. Speaking at the conclave, V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs said a proposal is also being studied by Laos for eastward extension of this highway and work is currently being executed on the early operationalisation of the trilateral highway. He also said that the state is looking forward to enhanced collaboration and cooperation between ASEAN countries on drug development and the Covid-19 vaccine. He said that even they are ready to share the Covid-19 vaccine with these countries whenever it is made available. Image Source Source: The Financial Express