Modi said that during his talks with President U Htin Kyaw, both sides discussed the whole range of bilateral engagement.
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In wide-ranging talks with Myanmarese President U Htin Kyaw, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed that India will stand by with Myanmar at “every step” of its new journey and that it wants to take the ties to “new heights”.
India and Myanmar have made a decision to step up the security ties and firm up their connectivity plans after Modi held extensive talks with President U Htin Kyaw – the first top-level engagement with the new government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD).
Suu Kyi has confirmed she will attend an outreach BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit in the western Indian state of Goa in October.
Earlier, Myanmar President was accorded a ceremonial reception today at the Rashtrapati Bhawan where he had meeting with the President Pranab Mukherjee.
“We recognised that our security interests are closely aligned”. In this context, both sides agreed that the delegations of India and Myanmar will continue to work together closely during deliberations in all relevant United Nations fora, the statement added. “And, actively cooperate to combat the common challenges of terrorism and insurgent activity in our region”, he added.
India has been concerned about increasing activities by insurgent groups, like NSCN-Khaplang and others, who have camps in remote mountainous parts of Myanmar near the Indian border. Myanmar has a substantial population of Indian origin. India had signed a peace accord with a second NSCN faction in August previous year. The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had first claimed that it was a cross-border operation, but it was then retracted. “And, do so as per the priorities of the Myanmar Government”, he said. Both sides also agreed to maintain their commitment not to allow any insurgent groups to use their soil for hostile activities against the other.
Following the bilateral talks, India and Myanmar on Monday signed four agreements. “There are still armed groups on the Indian side that can make it hard to promote border trade, as well”, he said, also describing India’s bureaucracy as “complicated”.
Besides security concerns, connectivity remained the main theme for India-Myanmar discussions.
Besides establishing better access to ASEAN and improving its ties with the members, India’s Myanmar strategy is also focused on countering China’s increasing footprint in its neighbourhood.
India and Myanmar signed four MoUs in connectivity, medicine and renewable energy. Now, with the Myanmar government in place, the delay is due to Thailand’s objections over the protocol negotiations, sources indicated. India has pledged to cooperate with Myanmar in developing its agriculture, banking, power and energy sectors. The two sides agreed that the completed facilities at Sittwe and Paletwa should be operationalised by December 2016.
“India’s almost 2 billion dollar development assistance is touching the lives of the common man of Myanmar”.
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“For example, Japan’s used vehicle market is very powerful and China’s used agriculture machines and equipment are also taking the majority of shares in the market”, he said.
