Shillong, Apr 4: Meghalaya chief minister, Conrad K Sangma said that an idea of implementing work permits for workers from other countries in order to check illegal immigrants should be discussed together with all chief ministers of the Northeast.

Conrad told reporters that on Tuesday, he threw the work permit idea before External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj during his meeting with her in New Delhi.

The Chief Minister stressed on the need to improve economic relationship between the Northeast and neighboring countries while focusing on the implementation of Act East Policy.

Stating that implementation of Act East Policy should benefit states in the Northeast and boost trade relationship with neighboring countries, he said that in the context of Act East Policy, it is Act South for Meghalaya, while referring to Bangladesh.

“When we discussed about Act East Policy, I mentioned to the External Affairs Minister that Meghalaya shares 443 km border with Bangladesh and our government is very keen on Act South Policy,” Conrad said.

He said that illegal immigration in the region and Meghalaya is a major challenge and it is very important to ensure that the state gets maximum benefit economically, and at the same time “protect our land and our people.”

Citing an instance, he said that countries like Australia, Arab countries, US, and UK also implemented permit systems for individuals who go and work there, but they cannot vote or become a citizen of that country.

“That kind of mechanism is worth looking at and it needs to be discussed with everybody. Ideas should be floated and consult with everybody. Good or bad, let us discuss it,” Conrad said.

He also said that the issue (work permit) should be discussed with all chief ministers of the Northeast especially while discussing about Act East and Act South policy in order to develop a strong mechanism in the long run.

The Chief Minister also took up with Swaraj the need to speed up the process of setting more border haats along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.

“Trade should happen. In term of tourism, tourists from Bangladesh are closer to the hill station like Shillong. We have to take advantage of that, but we have to take care of the problem of illegal immigration too,” he said.

During the meeting Conrad also raised the issue of linking a road straight from Kolkata to Guwahati instead of going through a chicken neck which will reduce the 1000 km distance to 700 km.