India -Myanmar bilateral ties

Recently, Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane were in Myanmar on a two-day visit.
They met Myanmar’s state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi for talks on taking forward bilateral relations in a wide range of areas.

Myanmar has been a very important and significant neighbour for India in terms of India’s neighborhood 1st policy and Act East policy.
Myanmar acts as a bridge for India in maintaining relations with ASEAN and BIMSTEC.
The relation between India and Myanmar is improving in terms of connectivity, security dimension and development.
Eg: India is creating a sittwe port in Myanmar through kaladan multimodal link which will act as a gateway to India’s northeast region, trilateral highway project between India, Myanmar and Thailand.
India and Myanmar share a multifaceted relationship even in terms of security and strategic point of view.

The major concern lies with the implementation of projects by India.
The drugs menace is an area of concern because many refugees are turning out to be smugglers.
The Rohingya issue in Bangladesh can be an irritant in India- Bangladesh relation.
The terrorist groups are training the refugees which can be a concern for future relations.
The influential role of China in Myanmar.

- There is a need to expand economic relations as well as trade relations.
Strategic development along with development of local areas for ethnic communities.
The ground assessment of political situation has to be done for smooth relations.
Autonomous relation with Myanmar is the need of the hour.
Military cooperation needs to be increased at a higher level.

India-Myanmar relations are rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties and thus Myanmar needs to balance the relation with India as well as China for the future development.

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