PM arrives in Myanmar; energy, security top agenda

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first head of the Indian government in 25 years to visit Myanmar, when he arrived at Nay Pyi Taw this morning seeking to elevate ties with the resource-rich country. The two sides are expected to announce initiatives to further relations in areas like energy, trade and connectivity.

Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had visited the country in 1987,  22 years after Lal Bahadur Shastri's visit to Burma in 1965.
 
Singh will hold talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein as well as opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi during the three-day trip.
 
India sees Myanmar as a strategic asset for a closer connection with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc as well as a key partner in counter-insurgency and economic development initiatives in its northeast border areas.
 
Perhaps most importantly, India is eying Myanmar's large oil and natural gas reserves. China has certainly stolen a march in this regard, having no compunction in dealing with the former notorious military regime, and India is struggling to catch up.
 
Speaking to reporters, Singh said he was looking forward to meeting the Myanmar leadership and opposition leader Suu Kyi in the next two days.  "We have centuries of religious and civilisational ties with the people of Myanmar and I'm looking forward to my talks here," he said.
 
Though India has a good presence in Myanmar in terms of various projects, China has been very aggressive in the energy, infrastructure and other sectors.
 
India too has been associated with Myanmar during the junta rule despite international criticism. But its earlier policy was rather uncertain – it neither publicly supported the military regime nor openly backed the Suu Kyi-led opposition. As a result it was caught between two stools while China forged ahead.
 
In a pre-departure statement, Singh said that his visit "will provide an opportunity to review the progress in implementation of decisions taken during the highly successful visit" of President Thein Sein to India in October last year.
 
"We will also consider new initiatives and define a roadmap for the further development of our cooperation in the years ahead," he said.