The inauguration of the Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminal of the River Brahmaputra at Jogighopa on Tuesday has unlocked the tremendous potential of Assam becoming a hub of multilateral trade and commerce between India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. With the new terminal designated as an international port of call between Bhutan and Bangladesh and serving as the only entry-exit point for export and import for Bhutan through waterways, the state is poised to immensely benefit from growing bilateral trade between the two countries. Jogighopa terminal is also a key port of call on the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route for trade and transit. Flagging of Bhutanese stone chips also marked the inauguration of the international port of call between the two neighbours of India. The terminal with the capacity to handle 1.1 million tonnes of cargo has a concrete jetty and approach and various offshore facilities like a customs office, immigration office, and truck parking area along with an 11,000 sq. metre open and 1100 sq. m covered storage area. The terminal is located just 91 km from Gelephu in Bhutan, 108 km from the Bangladesh border, and 147 km from Guwahati, which makes it a conveniently located terminal for all three countries for boosting trade and commerce. As the terminal is connected to the country’s first multimodal logistic park (MMLP), which is set to be operational soon, the MMLP is expected to be a cynosure of global investors. The presence of Bhutan’s Industries and Commerce Minister Namgyal Dorji at the inauguration of the terminal by Union Minister of Port, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal indicated Bhutan giving high priority to using the waterway and terminal to boost its trade and commerce through Assam. Navigability of the waterway will be critical for a steady increase in the use of the terminal by international logistics players. Dredging Corporation of India’s increasing dredging operation in the waterway is laudable, but rising sedimentation in the Brahmaputra accumulated in the riverbed decreases the availability of water for navigation, making smooth, ply vessels an enormous challenge. The river carries huge amounts of sediment during floods, and therefore, the central government making adequate financial allocations for optimal dredging of the waterway is crucial to sustain the efforts for reviving it. According to IWAI, inland waterways are cheaper and affordable and cost 59% less than roadways and 25% less than railways, due to which increasing use of it also lowers carbon footprint. The operationalisation of the terminal is expected to provide a push for the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between India and Bangladesh for developing an economic corridor under the Bharat Mala Pariyojana with Dalu-Tura (Meghalaya)-Goalpara (Assam)-Gelephu (Bhutan) multimodal trade route connected to Jogighopa MMLP, but Assam tapping maximum benefit from the flow of export and import cargo passing through the state will require the state to formulate a comprehensive plan of action. The development of the proposed Mindfulness City by Bhutan at Gelephu is already attracting major global attention, and the scope of the economic corridor and IWT terminal attracting the attention of major global players in logistics and cargo operations to Assam has also increased manifold. The state can leverage the terminal’s connectivity to Kolkata/Haldia through the IBP route and Barak River to convince the major national and international logistics players to explore commercial cargo operation and cruise tourism in the entire stretch of the Brahmaputra and Barak. A proposed broad gauge siding to be established for connecting the terminal with Jogighopa MMLP will increase its importance in multimodal trade between India, Bangladesh, and Bhutan and Northeast Frontier Railways. Expediting the work is essential to retain the momentum. Besides, the connectivity between the National Waterway 1 along the Brahmaputra waterways and the National Waterway 1 of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Prayagraj to Haldia through the IBP route can play a crucial role in keeping the supplies on from the rest of India to the Northeast region in case of any emergency cutting off supplies through the narrow Chicken Neck Corridor. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s announcement of the renovation of the Kokrajhar-Gelephu road for Rs 26 crore has signalled the priorities of his government to leverage its strategic location to derive maximum benefit from bilateral and multilateral engagement and link its infrastructure development to make the state a trade, commerce, and tourism hub of South and Southeast Asia. The Advantage Assam 2.0 brings huge opportunities to attract big-ticket investment for boosting infrastructure, trade, and commerce by showcasing these initiatives along with Assam’s strategic advantage in multimodal connectivity. The realisation of such an investment will generate huge employment and put the state on a faster lane of progress. The challenge is to ensure that multimodal connectivity through the state does not remain a mere transit route. International trade through the Jogighopa terminal boosting Assam’s export volume is equally important to justify the expenditure incurred in its development.