Ansari meets head of Myanmar's military junta

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Feb62009/foreign20090206116914.asp?section=updatenews

Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar), PTI:

Myanmar sought India's assistance in agriculture and agriculture technology and in strengthening its railway network expressing keen interest to buy locomotives.

Giving a leg-up to the deepening bilateral engagement, Myanmar and India have identified two new areas of cooperation -- agriculture and railway -- as Vice President Hamid Ansari on Friday met the head of the country's military junta Gen Than She here.

The meeting between two leaders has taken place amidst indications that ties between New Delhi and Yangon are set to move into a meaningful phase.



Myanmar sought India's assistance in agriculture and agriculture technology and in strengthening its railway network expressing keen interest to buy locomotives.

Gen Maung Aye, with whom Ansari had extensive discussions covering all aspects of bilateral relations yesterday, noted the great progress made by India in the field of agriculture and agriculture technology and wanted cooperation in this area, Special Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Vivek Katzu said.

The officials of the two countries will now get down to identifying specific areas of cooperation in agriculture, Katzu told Indian journalists accompanying the Vice President here late last night.


"We have to work out plans for specific areas of cooperation in agriculture," said Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Aloke Sen.

Katju also said another sector that emerged for cooperation is railway where Myanmar has sought India's help in extending its own rail network as part of its policy for strengthening the public transport sector.

India has in the past supplied locomotives and impressed by their performance. Myanmar is keen to have more of them, a senior official said.

What has enthused Myanmar in going for cooperation in railway sector is India's own huge rail network and its efficient functioning, Sen said.

India, for its turn, expressed deep interest in larger footprints of Myanmar's rich hydrocarbon sector which, along with hydropower and transportation, was singled out as a focus area of growth which could take bilateral relationship to a meaningful and substantive phase.

Ansari's talks with Myanmar's leadership brought out a clear and common understanding that bilateral relationship has moved in a positive direction and is posed for a time when the future should be shaped by keeping the focus on projects in sectors of mutual interest.

In a measure of the importance given by Myanmar to Ansari's visit, which is part of an interactive process between the two countries at the highest level, ten ministers and the Prime Minister of this country were present at the over two-hour delegation-level talks yesterday. As a senior Myanmarese official put it: "almost the entire cabinet was at the meeting".

There is a clear feeling in both the governments that the way forward lies only through economic cooperation as New Delhi reckons the India-Myanmar relations in the last seven years have taken a qualitatively higher trajectory encompassing a range of sectors -- road, power, hydrocarbon, telecom and information technology.

While India has been spurred to enhance its ties with Myanmar mainly guided by its own security interests given the insurgencies in northeastern states and its quest for energy security, Yangon has succeeded in taking advantage of New Delhi's economic, strategic and geopolitical imperatives, officials of both the countries here say.

India has ignored frequent nudges from the US and West European countries to shed its low-key response to Myanmar's handling of pro-democracy movement in the country and has walked a diplomatic tightrope, balancing energy and strategic security concerns with its commitment to democracy.

India had rolled out the red carpet for Myanmar's military rulers in the last five years with a high point being the visit by strongman Than Shwe to India in 2004.