18th CPA India Region Zone III conference concludes, next event to be held at Sikkim

ITANAGAR, May 13: Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh on Friday expressed his immense pleasure over the ‘successful’ conduct of the 18th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region Zone III Conference in Itanagar.

“The last two days have seen many fruitful and insightful discussions that will allow us to bring practical solutions to problems persisting in the North-Eastern region,” he said. He hoped that such discussions would turn the region’s challenges into opportunities.

Harivansh was speaking at the valedictory function of the 18th CPA India Region Zone III Conference here at the State Assembly that saw the attendance of Speakers and Deputy Speakers from all the eight NE states.

Congratulating the team led by Arunachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Pasang Dorjee Sona, the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman marvelled at the ‘methodical’ and ‘micro planning’ of the entire event.

Quoting the famous line ‘No one person can whistle a symphony; it takes a whole orchestra to play it’, Speaker Sona, who was re-elected as the Chairman of CPA India Region Zone III, said that CPA is the most effective platform to carry forward the vision of Northeast. “We all share similar problems and hence must work towards a similar goal,” he said.

Sona mentioned that the Central Government’s Vibrant Village Programme, that will improve infrastructure in villages along India’s border, will benefit the NE states immensely.

He also thanked Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein for attending the plenary sessions and sharing their thoughts.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bamang Felix said that CPA is the right platform to discuss and resolve all issues that have been hampering the relationships between the Northeast states. 

“CPA has offered us a wonderful platform to bridge up our gaps and strengthen our relationships. We must come across the table for discussions to resolve any such issues,” he said.

He mentioned that employment and income generation, insurgency, connectivity, border issues, fading cultures are some of the core challenges that all NE states have in common. So, it is imperative that we share our ideas and experiences with each other through such platforms as a way forward to overcome these challenges.

Deputy Speaker Tesam Pongte thanked all for attending the conference. Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, who could not make it to the event today because of inclement weather, has sent his greetings and wishes to all.

The next CPA India Region Zone III conference will be held at Sikkim. (DIPR)