Modi reaches Myanmar as Rohingya crisis heats up
Refugee issue likely to figure in discussions between the leaders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday on his first bilateral visit to Myanmar to chart out a roadmap for closer cooperation in areas such as security and counter-terrorism.
Soon after his arrival, Modi met Myanmar President Htin Kyaw in Nay Pyi Taw.
Modi arrived on the second leg of his two-nation trip during which he travelled to Chinese city Xiamen where he attended the annual BRICS summit and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders. Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister had said India and Myanmar would look at strengthening existing cooperation in areas of security and counter-terrorism, trade and investment, infrastructure and energy, and culture.
The PM said both countries will review developments in bilateral ties with a focus on “extensive” programme of development cooperation and socioeconomic assistance India is undertaking in Myanmar.
Modi had visited Myanmar in 2014 to attend the ASEAN- India Summit. Both Kyaw and Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi had visited India last year after the National League for Democracy assumed power in that country.
ROHINGYA ISSUE
The issue of Rohingyas on whom the Myanmarese security forces have launched a crackdown in the country’s Rakhine state is expected to figure in the discussions. United Nations on Tuesday said nearly 1,25,000 mostly Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh since the fresh upsurge of violence in Myanmar on August 25 amid fears of a humanitarian crisis in the overstretched camps. The UN said 1,23,600 had crossed the border in the past 11 days from Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Their arrival has raised fears of a fresh humanitarian disaster as already crowded camps in Bangladesh, home to around 4,00,000 Rohingya refugees before the latest crisis, struggle to cope with the influx.
On Wednesday, the PM will hold bilateral talks with Myanmar’s state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also the country’s foreign minister and minister of President’s Office following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed. Modi will also visit Bagan, a heritage city where the Archaeological Survey of India is involved in restoration of a temple and some pagodas, and Yangon where he will interact with members of the Indian community.
“During the visit, we will review developments in our bilateral relations, especially the extensive programme of development cooperation and socio-economic assistance that India is undertaking in Myanmar, and explore new areas in which we can work together,” Modi said in a pre-departure statement here.
“We will also look at strengthening our existing cooperation on security and counter-terrorism, trade and investment, skill development, infrastructure and energy, and culture,” he said.
India has committed grant-inaid assistance amounting to ₹4,000 crore to Myanmar, out of a total commitment of around $1.7 billion. The projects include the Kaladan Multimodal Transport Project connecting Sittwe port in Myanmar with the northeast Indian state of Mizoram, a trilateral highway connecting northeastern India with Myanmar and Thailand, and the Rhi-Tiddim road.
In terms of capacity building, New Delhi is assisting the eastern neighbour in setting up institutions of higher learning like the Myanmar Institute of Information Technology, Advanced Centre for Agricultural Research and Education, Myanmar-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Myanmar-India Centre for English Language Training and India-Myanmar Industrial Training Centres.