Prime Minister to begin talks in Myanmar today

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will begin talks in Myanmar on Monday. Singh is on a three day visit to the country - a first by any Indian Prime Minister in 25 years.

He is accompanied by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and will be meeting Myanmar's President Thein Sein in the capital on Monday. The delegation will then travel to Yangon on Tuesday to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The PM, in a speech before he left, said he plans to strengthen ties with our neighbour and hopes to sign a number of bilateral treaties and MoUs.

Manmohan Singh plans to strengthen ties with Myanmar and hopes to sign a number of bilateral treaties and MoUs.

"We will also consider new initiatives and define a roadmap for the further development of our cooperation in the years ahead," said Singh.

India will be looking to enhancing its presence in the resource-rich energy sector of Myanmar, especially oil and gas, and to improve the road connectivity with its strategic eastern neighbour.

The two countries are expected to sign an agreement for starting a bus service between Imphal and Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar, which is expected to give a major boost to India's neighbourhood diplomacy following similar bus links between New Delhi and Lahore and Kolkata and Dhaka.

The Prime Minister, who will hold talks with Sein on Monday at Nay Pyi Taw, said that during his visit to Myanmar, he hopes to focus on "stronger trade and investment links, development of border areas, improving connectivity between our two countries and building capacity and human resources".

The last Prime Minister to visit the country was Rajiv Gandhi's in December 1987.

India will be looking to enhancing its presence in the resource-rich energy sector of Myanmar, especially oil and gas, and to improve the road connectivity with its strategic eastern neighbour.

The two countries are expected to sign an agreement for starting a bus service between Imphal and Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar, which is expected to give a major boost to India's neighbourhood diplomacy following similar bus links between New Delhi and Lahore and Kolkata and Dhaka.

The Prime Minister, who will hold talks with Sein tomorrow at Nay Pyi Taw, said that during his visit to Myanmar, he hopes to focus on "stronger trade and investment links, development of border areas, improving connectivity between our two countries and building capacity and human resources".

"We also hope to sign a number of agreements and MoUs to further strengthen our bilateral cooperation in these areas, besides promoting people-to-people contacts," Singh said. Singh said India welcomes Myanmar's "transition to democratic governance and the steps taken by the government of Myanmar towards a more broad-based and inclusive reconciliation process" and offered to share "democratic experiences" with that country.

With additional information from PTI

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)