PM arrives in Myanmar, eyes stronger trade ties

AFP/Naypydaw, Myanmar

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur walk on a red carpet upon their arrival at Naypyidaw airport late yesterday. Singh began a visit to Myanmar, stepping up efforts to woo the resource-rich nation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began a visit to Myanmar yesterday, stepping up efforts to woo the resource-rich nation and seizing the chance to counter the influence of regional rival China. Singh will hold talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the three-day trip, the first by an Indian premier to the Southeast Asian nation in a quarter of a century. The last Indian prime minister to visit the country was Rajiv Gandhi in 1987.Energy-hungry India is eyeing Myanmar’s large oil and natural gas reserves and is eager to boost trade after a half-century of military rule left Myanmar isolated and heavily reliant on its other giant neighbour China. “Stronger trade and investment links, development of border areas, improving connectivity between our two countries and building capacity and human resources are areas that I hope to focus on during my visit,” Singh said in a statement before departing on the trip. Singh, who touched down in the new capital Naypyidaw late yesterday, will meet Thein Sein today. He arrived flanked by Indian journalists who travelled with him on the Air India flight and was met by senior Myanmar officials. He will travel to the main city of Yangon for talks with Suu Kyi tomorrow, in a move seen as a sign that India wants to reaffirm ties with the veteran activist. New Delhi, once a staunch supporter of Suu Kyi’s struggle for democracy, changed tack in the mid-1990s as it sought closer ties with Myanmar, and drew international criticism for its engagement with the former junta. But India has pointed to recent dramatic reforms under a new quasi-civilian regime, including Suu Kyi’s election to parliament in April by-elections, as a validation of its stance. “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,” said Singh, adding that his country was “ready to share our democratic experiences with Myanmar.” Suu Kyi, who has a strong personal tie to India because she studied there while her mother was ambassador, said after she was released from house arrest in 2010 that she had been “saddened” by a lack of support from New Delhi. “We welcome that India now has a more open relationship with us,” Nyan Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy, said. India hopes to sign several memorandums of understanding during the talks, said Singh, who stressed the countries’ “shared history and culture.” An Indian diplomat who declined to be named said about 12 agreements were set to be signed today. Myanmar, formerly called Burma, was administered as a province of India during British colonial rule and the two countries have religious links dating back to the early spread of Buddhism more than 2,000 years ago. India sees Myanmar as the springboard to a closer connection with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc as well as a key partner in counter-insurgency and economic development drives in its northeast border areas. Singh is the latest in a series of top-level visitors to Myanmar as the international community begins easing sanctions, raising hopes that the impoverished nation could be the next big frontier market. Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said Singh’s visit was “rather belated.” “Myanmar is strategically very important for India and should be given a high foreign policy and economic policy focus so long as the reform process is continuing,” he said. Singh was to be accompanied by a high-powered business delegation, including telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of mobile giant Bharti Airtel. Indian-backed infrastructure projects in Myanmar include a port at Sittwe on the Bay of Bengal but New Delhi’s activities in the country lag those of Beijing, which is behind a host of major energy developments. According to IHS figures, China led the ranking in investments in Myanmar last year, pledging $8.3bn, with India trailing in 13th place, with $189mn pledged. Indian trade with Myanmar stood at $1.2bn in 2010, far short of the $4.4bn between China and Myanmar. Vibhanshu Shekhar of the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi said Myanmar was crucial in “limiting China’s growing presence in Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal.” But he said “no power including China can say with certainty that they are in a comfortable position in Myanmar,” citing a major Chinese-backed dam project halted by Naypyidaw last year.