New Delhi, Sept 9: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K Sangma, on Wednesday, met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the national capital, seeking a fresh push for Externally Aided Projects (EAPs) in the two northeastern states. The meeting at Kartavya Bhawan focused on increasing capital expenditure in the Northeast and creating new investment channels for physical and social infrastructure through EAPs.

In a social media post after the meeting, Sarma said the two chief ministers had “made a strong case to bring a new impetus to the pace of Externally Aided Projects in both of our states, which will open new investment channels for physical and social infrastructure.” Sarma said Sitharaman responded positively to the proposals and assured the chief ministers of a renewed push by the Centre to advance the development agenda.

Chief Minister Sangma also thanked the Finance Minister for her support to Meghalaya and the wider Northeast. “Met the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister, Smti @nsitharaman ji along with the Hon’ble Chief Minster of Assam, Dr.

@himantabiswa ji to dicuss matters relating to Externally Aided Projects. Thank the Union Finanace Minster for always supporting the aspirations of the Meghalaya and the NE Region,” he said in a social media post.

The meeting assumes significance for Assam as the state seeks to accelerate infrastructure development and open up additional avenues for investment through externally aided projects. The meeting comes months after Sitharaman, while chairing a conference on “Leveraging externally aided projects in the northeastern states” in Shillong in June, said assistance under EAPs in the Northeast had increased seven-fold under the Narendra Modi government.

She said the scale of support to the region had risen from around Rs 9,000 crore during 2004-2014 to nearly Rs 76,000 crore between 2014 and 2026. Sitharaman had also said EAPs should not be viewed merely as financing mechanisms, but as instruments to help local produce reach global markets, strengthen livelihoods and turn the Northeast’s geographical challenges into opportunities for economic growth.