Home Minister P Chidambaram today said that most of the north-east region is conflict free and nearly all seperatist groups in the region are in talks with the government.

Addressing the seventh North East Business Summit in New Delhi today, Mr Chidambaram said that militant groups in the North East have realised that violence will not pay and the State will never allow any violent group to overpower it.

He said that peace in the region can be achieved only through talks. The Home Minister added that a lot has changed in the north east region in the last few years and conflict is now confined to Manipur, some parts of Assam and Nagaland.

He said that Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Arunanchal Pradesh and most parts of Assam are conflict free.

Mr Chidambaram said that the perception that North East is conflict ridden, needs to be changed to attract more investment in the region.

The Home Minister stated that the margin of advantage should be provided to businesses looking towards investing in the north east region.

Addressing the summit, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Vir Bhadra Singh said that the government is making huge investment in the north east region to support small and medium businesses to boost the economy.