Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal participated in the CEO Round Table at the North East India Infrastructure Summit 2026 in Shillong on Monday, June 15, 2026, engaging industry leaders on expanding infrastructure, trade, and connectivity across the Northeast.

Context

Sonowal used the platform to underscore the transformative impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy, describing the Northeast as 'India's new engine of growth.' He urged participating business leaders to 'realise the true potential of the region and be active partners in this glorious journey towards a Viksit Bharat.'

The summit, held in Shillong — the capital of Meghalaya — brought together government officials and corporate executives to chart a roadmap for accelerated investment in the region's physical and economic infrastructure.

Policy Backdrop

The Act East Policy was formally launched by Prime Minister Modi in 2014, repositioning India's Northeast as the country's strategic gateway to Southeast Asia and the broader ASEAN region. The shift upgraded the earlier 'Look East' approach into an action-oriented framework covering roads, waterways, digital links, and people-to-people ties.

Complementing this, the Bharatmala Pariyojana, approved in 2015, included dedicated road corridors to stitch together the eight Northeastern states with national and cross-border networks. Successive industry-government summits have been convened to channel private capital into these corridors alongside public investment.

Stakeholders and Impact

The CEO Round Table format places corporate decision-makers at the centre of policy dialogue, signalling the government's intent to move beyond state-funded projects and attract private equity into Northeast infrastructure. Sectors in focus include multimodal logistics, inland waterways — a domain directly under Sonowal's ministerial mandate — road connectivity, and cross-border trade facilitation with Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

For Northeast businesses and communities, sustained investment in connectivity infrastructure holds the promise of reduced freight costs, faster market access, and broader employment generation. Infrastructure investors, in turn, are being invited to treat the region not as a frontier market but as an emerging economic corridor.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to any follow-up project announcements, memoranda of understanding, or investment commitments that emerge from the North East India Infrastructure Summit 2026. Observers will also watch whether new Northeast-specific connectivity schemes feature in the Union Budget 2027, as the government looks to translate summit-level intent into funded, time-bound projects.