Myanmar assures its territory won’t be used against India’s security interests

• Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks to boost bilateral ties in trade, defence, energy, and connectivity in New Delhi on June 1.

• Aung Hlaing assured that Myanmarese territory would not be allowed to be used against India’s security interests.

• Aung Hlaing’s visit comes less than two months after he became the president following Myanmar’s parliamentary elections.

• The elections were held in December and January after years of protests against the ruling military-junta that seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021, overthrowing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

• Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours.

• India shares a long land border of over 1,643 km with Myanmar as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, have a boundary with Myanmar.

Highlights of the meeting:

• Enhanced connectivity would foster mutually beneficial economic linkages and shared prosperity in the region. In this regard, both sides shared the importance of working closely towards the completion of Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway.

• Both sides agreed to facilitate and enhance bilateral trade including through the Rupee-Kyat settlement mechanism.

• PM Modi stated that Myanmar lies at the confluence of India’s Neighbourhood First, Act East and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) policies.

• Both sides underscored the importance of preventing the misuse of sovereign territory for activities inimical to their security interests. 

• The Mekong Ganga ICCR scholarships for Myanmar students would be enhanced from 36 to 100 from this year.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)