President Min Aung Hlaing met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on his first foreign tour
Myanmar has vowed not to allow its territory to be used against neighboring India’s security interests.
President Min Aung Hlaing, who is in New Delhi on his first foreign tour, held comprehensive discussions with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
President Hlaing’s statement is important in light of India’s March arrest of a group of seven foreigners, including six Ukrainian mercenaries, who were allegedly training and supplying weapons to insurgents in Myanmar.
The insurgents had crossed into Myanmar and back through India’s eastern border in India’s northeastern state of Mizoram. The region around this border is a hotbed of insurgent activity, according to Indian military experts. These groups were reportedly in touch with insurgent groups in India too.
Modi told Hlaing that New Delhi remains Myanmar’s “trusted neighbor, a reliable partner, and steadfast first responder in times of crisis” in line with India’s Neighbourhood-First policy. He reaffirmed India’s readiness to support peace and dialogue with Myanmar, India’s foreign ministry said in a post on X.
PM @narendramodi held wide-ranging discussions with President U Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on further deepening India-Myanmar bilateral ties.
Anchored in the enduring historical and people-to-people relationship, both sides agreed to advance 🇮🇳-🇲🇲 partnership for peace,… pic.twitter.com/kYt5cPl7NE
The two leaders held talks on issues such as trade, defense, security, and border management and agreed to enhance cooperation.
Both sides stressed the need to prevent activities detrimental to each other’s security interests within their respective territories. India shares a 1,020-mile border with Myanmar and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
Cross-border immigration and the consequent demographic changes have increased socio-political tension in much of eastern and northeastern India.
Myanmar also pledged to back the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, which have stalled.
With regard to concerns raised by rights groups about Myanmar’s military-backed government, India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “History has shown that disengagement doesn’t give us any results that are better than engagement.”
Hlaing’s previous visit to India was in 2019, when he served as Myanmar’s military chief.
