On 1st foreign trip, Myanmar’s Prez meets Modi, covers security and connectivity

INdia on mon raised the intragroup certificate state of affairs, long-pending connectivity projects and popular transition, including the status of Aung San Suu Kyi, with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, who gave an assurance that he wouldn’t allow his country’s soil to be used against India’s security interests.The former leader of Myanmar’s junta made India the destination for his first foreign visit after becoming president in April, making an outreach to New Delhi at a time when his new government continues to face criticism over the fairness of general and presidential elections held since December. Besides holding talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, Hlaing participated in events aimed at drumming up trade and investment.Modi and Hlaing did not make customary media statements after their discussions and a detailed readout on the meeting was provided by foreign secretary Vikram Misri, who told a media briefing that Myanmar’s internal security situation and its ramifications for India’s northeast, stalled connectivity projects such as the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway, and the democratic process in the neighbouring country had all figured in the talks.Modi said in a social media post that he had a “productive meeting” with Hlaing and India was “honoured” that he chose the country for his first foreign visit. “Myanmar is vital to India’s policies of ‘Neighbourhood First’, ‘Act East’ and Indo-Pacific,” he said.Misri defended the engagement with Myanmar’s new government, saying India believes in “sustained dialogue” since disengagement will not lead to solutions. “History has shown that disengagement doesn’t give us any results that are better than engagement, and it certainly doesn’t produce democratic change if that is what we are interested in,” he said.“On the other hand, disengagement only produces a vacuum that others go on to fill then to our detriment. And those others have no interest in democracy,” Misti said in an apparent reference to China, which has sought to step up its presence in Myanmar amid a dragging civil war that began in October 2023.India has a “major interest” in Myanmar’s internal security — both the fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups, and the government’s efforts to take forward a peace process with all the armed organisations — because stability and peace in the neighbouring country is linked to the security of India’s northeastern states, which share a 1,643-km border with Myanmar, and connectivity with Southeast Asia, Misri said.“Apart from that, there is the very important question of activities of Indian insurgent groups in Myanmar, close to our borders,” he said, noting that Modi raised this issue with Hlaing, who gave an assurance that Myanmar is “sensitive to these concerns” and will do everything necessary to ensure that this does not become a threat to India’s security.A joint statement issued after the talks said Modi conveyed India’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Myanmar and commitment to deepen security cooperation, while Hlaing reiterated Myanmar’s “assurance that its territory would not be permitted to be used against India’s security interests”.At the same time, Misti reiterated India’s backing for a Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned solution to the country’s problems through dialogue. “I don’t think, from the outside, anybody has any ready-made solutions to offer Myanmar,” he said.Misri acknowledged that the issue of Myanmarese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, detained during a military coup in 2021 and currently under house arrest, was raised by Modi with Hlaing in the context of Myanmar’s peace process and the efforts to bring in all groups together to find a way forward. Modi emphasised the need for enduring peace, inclusion and dialogue as Myanmar finds its way back towards democracy, he said.The Indian side also raised the issue of Myanmar’s military operations against armed groups operating on the Myanmar side close to the borders, and the resultant influx of refugees to Indian states such as Mizoram. Misri quoted the Prime Minister as saying that the Myanmar military and authorities “should pay close attention” to this matter and stressing that operations should be conducted in a manner that avoids harm to people living on the Indian side of the border.The India-funded Kaladan transit project, which envisages the development of a 158-km waterway and a 109-km road link to Mizoram, and the trilateral highway project, meant to link India’s Manipur state to Mae Sot in Thailand via Mandalay in Myanmar, have been beset by prolonged delays, and Misri said both schemes had been hit by the security situation in Myanmar.“The Kaladan highway is in an area where there are active hostilities going on right now between the Myanmar Army and the ethnic armies in Rakhine state. The section of the trilateral highway where work was underway and has gone on in fits and starts in recent years is again in an area where ethnic armed groups and the PDFs are quite active and engaging in hostilities with the Myanmar Army,” he said.“So obviously in these circumstances, it’s a little difficult to meet preset targets and dates,” Misri said, adding that India continues to engage with Myanmar authorities to take forward the work. “This is something that remains a major priority. It was raised by the Prime Minister today with the President, [who] once again gave his assurance that Myanmar would do everything to ensure that these projects move forward towards completion,” he said.The joint statement said both sides agreed to facilitate and enhance bilateral trade, including through the Rupee-Kyat settlement mechanism, and noted the steady growth in transactions since the mechanism was operationalised in May 2024. Two-way trade is currently worth a little more than $2 billion, with India’s exports valued at around $600 million and Myanmar’s exports at $1.5 billion. Both sides also backed closer trade and investment cooperation in areas such as agro-processing, petroleum, energy and mining, including critical minerals.