Moreh and the promise of a shared future

Dr Raj Singh *

Indo-Myanmar Friendship Gate at Moreh, border town between India & Myanmar in August 2012 :: Pix - CK Sharma

How India’s gateway to Southeast Asia could become a cross-border success story like Ruili or Ciudad del Este - If only it chooses inclusion over ethnic competition

On a misty morning in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district, trucks idle on the edge of the Indo-Myanmar border, waiting for green signals that may not come today - or even tomorrow. In the town of Moreh, the only Indian land port that directly connects to the Southeast Asian highway network, uncertainty has become routine. What should have been a humming transnational trade hub is instead a town marked by suspicion, silos, and periodic lockdowns.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Moreh, by all accounts, is strategically placed to be India’s commercial bridge to Myanmar, Thailand, and the ASEAN community. Its location along the India–Myanmar–Thailand Tri-lateral Highway makes it a geopolitical asset and an economic opportunity rolled into one. Yet, this potential is being squandered - not for lack of infrastructure alone, but for lack of trust.

In this article, we explore a central idea : Moreh can be transformed into India’s Ruili or Ciudad del Este - thriving, multiethnic border cities where diversity is not a curse but a currency. But that will only happen if India replaces ethnic one- upmanship with economic inclusion and policy courage.

The Geography of Promise, The Politics of Peril

Geographically, Moreh couldn’t be better placed. Tucked into the southeastern tip of Manipur, it connects directly to Tamu in Myanmar, providing the only overland gateway between India and Southeast Asia that is currently operational. As part of India’s Act East Policy, Moreh is supposed to be the corridor through which goods, services, culture, and diplomacy flow eastward.

Before the 2023 ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis derailed progress, Moreh’s formal annual trade turnover stood at around Rs 800 crore (USD 100 million). Much more - possibly twice as much - moved through informal or semi-formal channels. Timber, textiles, betel nuts, Chinese electronics, and Indian pharma- ceuticals were among the town’s staples.

But this promising commerce sits on a fractured social bedrock. Kukis, who are numerically dominant in Moreh, have claimed it as part of their envisioned homeland, Zalengam. Allegations abound of Kuki militant groups controlling trade routes and levying their own “taxes.”
Meiteis, dominant in the Manipur valley, view this as an existential threat - not just to trade, but to the State’s unity. The Nagas, who lay claim to surrounding regions under the banner of “Greater Nagalim,” add yet another layer of tension.

What could be a beacon of India’s border development strategy is instead turning into a militarized buffer of mistrust. And unless we confront this reality head-on, we will lose not just a town, but a National opportunity.

Ruili : A Town That Chose Trade Over Tension

To envision what Moreh could become, one need only look across the border to Ruili, a small town in China’s Yunnan Province, once as obscure and underdeveloped as Moreh.

In the 1980s, under Deng Xiaoping’s Reform and Opening-Up Policy, Ruili was designated a Special Economic Zone. It received tax incentives, regulatory reforms, and investment in border infrastructure. What followed was a quiet revolution. Annual trade through Ruili ballooned to over USD 4.5 billion, making it China’s largest land trade hub with Myanmar.

But numbers tell only half the story. Ruili succeeded because it embraced its diversity. Home to Han Chinese, Dai, Jingpo, Burmese, and other minorities, the town invested in multilingual education, minority business programs, and neutral security enforcement. Roads and railways were built not just for connectivity but for coexistence.

Today, Ruili is not only a commercial gateway - it is a case study in balancing border growth with social stability. Moreh, with the right policies, can follow this model.

Ciudad del Este: The Tri-Border Powerhouse of South America

Thousands of miles away in South America, another town offers a compelling parallel. Ciudad del Este, founded in 1957 at the meeting point of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina, is one of the world’s largest duty-free trade zones. Its current trade turnover exceeds USD 15 billion annually, second only to São Paulo in the region.

What makes Ciudad del Este special is not just the volume of trade, but the diversity of its traders. Paraguayans, Brazilians, Lebanese, Chinese, and indigenous communities run side-by-side businesses in electronics, textiles, cosmetics, and more.

How did this work ? Instead of fencing off opportunity for one group, Paraguay opened up its borders for all. Ethnic and National differences gave way to economic interdependence. Joint security patrols between the three countries helped keep crime in check without choking the flow of commerce.

What Ciudad del Este teaches Moreh is this : when every community sees a stake in growth, peace follows.

Johor Bahru: Coexisting on the Edge of a Global City

Closer home, Johor Bahru - just across the strait from Singapore - offers yet another masterclass in border urbanism. It could have become Singapore’s poor cousin. Instead, it became a complementary economic magnet, thanks to Malaysia’s vision. The region around Johor Bahru attracted over USD 100 billion in investment through the Iskandar Malaysia development corridor, offering real estate, manufacturing, and tourism as its pillars.

Johor Bahru’s workforce is a harmonious blend of Malays, Chinese, Indians, and migrants, governed by inclusive policies that ensure ethnic representation in economic planning bodies. The success of Johor Bahru suggests that even with proximity to a much richer neighbor, a city can carve out its own identity - if it is built for all, not just some.

Chetumal: Mexico’s Quiet Border Marvel

On the border between Mexico and Belize lies Chetumal, once a sleepy town, now a key part of Mexico’s trade and tourism landscape. The magic ingredient ? Free Trade Zones and support for small-scale entrepreneurship.

With a trade volume of around USD 1.2 billion annually, Chetumal leverages its Afro-Caribbean, Mestizo, and Mayan populations as a selling point. Tourists come not despite the diversity, but because of it. Economic inclusion turned cultural complexity into a strength.

The Moreh We Could Build

Let’s now bring the spotlight back to Moreh. What would it take to convert this town into India’s own success story?

1. Grant Moreh Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status, offering duty waivers, infrastructure subsidies, and formal trade channels. This would wean the economy away from informal, often militant-controlled networks.

2. Establish a Multi-Ethnic Trade Council comprising Kukis, Meiteis, Nagas, and Myanmar traders to supervise policy implementation, grievance redressal, and commercial coordination.

3. Deploy neutral security forces, like a special joint force drawn from Central and State security organizations to prevent ethnic-aligned policing and to secure trade routes without intimidating traders.

4. Pursue bilateral coordination with Myanmar, mirroring Ciudad del Este’s model. A joint India-Myanmar logistics and customs pact can bring Tamu into the fold and reduce friction.

5. Upgrade infrastructure, including bonded warehouses, cold storage, banking kiosks, and digital customs clearance.

6. Launch minority trader support schemes, including business training, credit access, and joint ventures across communities.

A Town Divided Cannot Trade

If we fail to act, Moreh risks more than economic stagnation. Ethnic dominance games will turn traders into targets, businesses into battlegrounds, and borders into barriers. India’s Act East Policy will falter at its very doorstep.

Inaction could mean losing Rs 1000 crore in annual trade, pushing regional traders into underground markets, and ceding Southeast Asia’s economic corridors to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Conclusion: A Shared Future Beckons

The story of Moreh is still being written. It can either be a tale of a border town torn by rivalries, or one of a gateway where people came together, despite their histories, to build something larger than themselves.

India must not let geography go to waste. Let policy rise above identity, and let inclusive economics replace exclusionary claims. Because the world doesn’t need another cautionary tale. It needs a model of pluralism, peace, and prosperity. And Moreh - if we choose rightly - can be that model.