New Delhi, June 19 -- Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday urged northeastern states to view multilateral and bilateral development finance not merely as a source of funding but as a tool for strengthening governance systems, improving service delivery and accessing global expertise, as she called for greater use of externally aided projects (EAPs) to accelerate the region's development.

Addressing a conference on 'Leveraging Externally Aided Projects in the North-Eastern States' in Shillong, Sitharaman said development finance should be deployed strategically to improve the lives of citizens and create sustainable opportunities for future generations.

She said externally aided projects have become an important source of ...