The central government has started implementing its policy to turn Assam and the other northeastern states into the pivot of its 'act east' policy. As part of this policy, Assam will host an 'Invest Assam' summit on the lines of Vibrant Gujarat. The heads of state of several ASEAN countries, who would participate in the country's 2018 Republic Day festivity, may attend the summit. At the same time, Japan and Bhutan are being encouraged to open a consulate in Guwahati. For the record, Tokyo is already involved in a lot of developmental activities in the NE states. President Ram Nath Kovind is giving the issue a leadership push. He traveled last week to three northeastern states and opened a northeast development summit. Addressing the gathering, Kovind said, "if you consider the hundreds and thousands of years of civilization, far from being a frontier, the Northeast has been at the heart of Indian imagination. And if you take South Asia and Southeast Asia as a continuum - as it has been perceived for most of history - then the Northeast is right in the middle of it. ... Its geographical location makes it the obvious gateway to India, linking the vast economies of the Indian subcontinent and of today's ASEAN countries." To integrate foreign policy with domestic policy, Sushma Swaraj last week held a meeting of the governors of all seven northeastern states and the lieutenant-governor of Andaman & Nicobar islands. Raveesh Kumar, MEA spokesperson tweeted "The interactive discussion will feed into the deliberations at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit 2018 ... featuring an enhanced role for the Northeastern Region, India's gateway to the ASEAN." Sources said all governors came with suggestions and these have been prioritized into short and medium term deliverables.