India, Myanmar sign 11 agreements Modi meets Suu Kyi, discusses bilateral relations
Source: The Sangai Express / IANS/PTI

Nay Pyi Taw, September 06 2017: With New Delhi’s increasing emphasis on its Act East Policy, India and Myanmar on Wednesday signed eight Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and three agreements in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar to strengthen the multifaceted partnership between the two countries .

Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of North Eastern States including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur .

Following are the agreements and MoUs signed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Myanmar’s State Counsellor and de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi:
i) MoU between the Election Commission of India and Union Election of Myanmar
ii) Cultural exchange programme for the year 2017�2020
iii) MoU on Cooperation betwen the Myanmar Press Council and the Press Council of India
iv) Extension of MoU on the establishment of India-Myanmar Centre for enhancement of IT skills
v) Extension of MoU on the establishment of MIIT
vi) MoU on cooperation in medical products regulation
vii) MoU on cooperation in the field of health and medicine
viii) MoU on Enhancing the Cooperation of the upgradation of the women’s police training center at Yamethin, Myanmar .

India, Myanmar sign 11 agreements Modi meets Suu Kyi, discusses bilateral relations

The two leaders unveiled the agreements after delegation-level talks, touching upon several issues, including the unrest in the Rakhine State.

India and Myanmar signed an MoU to strengthen maritime security cooperation.

The two sides also signed an agreement for sharing white shipping information to improve data sharing on non-classified merchant navy ships or cargo ships .

Prime Minister Modi also announced gratis visas for people of Myanmar and promised to release the 40 Myanmarese citizens, lodged in Indian jails .

“India’s democratic experience is relevant to Myanmar.

As neighbours, our interests are similar in the area of security .

It’s necessary for us to work together towards the security of our land and maritime border,” Prime Minister Modi said .

Underlining the importance of maritime security, the Prime Minister said, “Myanmar and India, being neighbours, our outlook and focus on security are similar.

It is necessary that India and Myanmar cooperate to ensure that the land and coastal borders we share remain calm,” he added .

State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi said, “There are many areas in which we can cooperate.

I would like to talk about the role India has played in capacity building because that is what our country is more in need of – to build up the capacity of our people that we may be able to construct truly safe and lasting federal democratic unions.”
“India has always been eager to join us in our efforts, to strengthen our democratic institutions of our country and for this also, we appreciate the relationship between our two countries.

The friendship between our two countries has always been good.

We need to further strengthen what we already have, what we built up at the time of our Independence 70 years ago,” Kyi said .

The Myanmar leader added, “The respective fathers of our Independence movement were close to each other and I think this closeness has been maintained throughout the seven decades and we truly believe that this will continue to be maintained in the years to come.”
This is PM Modi’s first bilateral visit to Myanmar.

He had last visited the country in 2014 to attend the ASEAN-India Summit.

Suu Kyi and the Myanmarese president had visited India last year .

Modi meets Suu Kyi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the two leaders discussed ways to further cement the bilateral relations .

"Prime Minister Modi and Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi meet in Myanmar, discuss further cementing of India-Myanmar relations," PMO said in a tweet .

"Meeting a valued friend.

Prime Minister Modi with the State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted .

India and Myanmar were also looking at strengthening existing cooperation in areas of security and counter-terrorism, trade and investment, infrastructure and energy, and culture, Modi had said ahead of his visit .

Modi arrived here on the second leg of his two-Nation trip during which he travelled to southeastern 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.