Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with members of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) during signing of a peace accord between ULFA and the central and Assam governments, in New Delhi, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The peace pact signed with the pro-talks faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) will pave the way for investment into the northeastern region, the High Commissioner of Singapore Simon Wong has said. The envoy had earlier in November observed that products of Assam have a ready market in Singapore.
“We are happy to see the historic tripartite peace pact signed amongst ULFA, GOI and the Govt of Assam. This will anchor peace in the region and give a boost to foreign investors like Singapore to move into the Northeast,” said High Commissioner Wong in a social media post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. The High Commissioner’s remark was in response to a message on the same platform by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who had highlighted the pact as a major achievement and described December 29 as a “historic day”.
This is the first response from a foreign representative on the pact that was signed on Friday under which a time-bound programme would be made by the Home Ministry to fulfil the demands of the ULFA and a committee would be constituted to monitor its progress.
Singapore has warmed up to Assam in recent months and in March this year, High Commissioner Wong visited Guwahati when Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the Assam branch of Singapore consultancy firm Surbana Jurong.
In November, Mr. Wong visited the Assam pavilion at the 42nd India International Trade Fair here, appreciated the products on display and said that Singapore has a ready market for products of Assam. On that occasion, Chief Minister Sarma had said, “Like you, I too hope to see more Assamese products exported and sold in Singapore and Southeast Asia with the direct air cargo route between Guwahati and Singapore.” In September, Chief Minister Sarma received the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship from Singapore “for his distinguished contribution to public service”.