Myanmar envoy praises India’s assistance in developmental & infra projects

This year in May, India completed the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP), and 70% of the work on ongoing 1400-km India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway has been completed.

Sanjeev K Ahuja On Dec 29, 2023

NEW DELHI: Myanmar envoy to India Ambassador Moe Kyaw Aung has said the development and technical cooperation has played an important role in overall bilateral relationship between Myanmar and India. This bilateral cooperation ranges from the establishment of major connectivity infrastructure to significant initiatives aimed at enhancing capacity building and human resource development in 4 imperative areas of nation building such as agricultural research, education, information technology, skill development, and so on.

“Among others, I wish to highlight some significant cooperation between Myanmar and India. The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) is the most significant project undertaken by India in Myanmar. The project includes a waterway component of 158 km on Kaladan River from Sittwe to Paletwa and a road component of 109 km from Paletwa to Zorinpui on the Myanmar-India border,” said Myanmar envoy.

Ambassador said this in his address at the diamond jubilee commemoration of 75^th Anniversary of India-Myanmar diplomatic relations event held at the embassy premises recently. Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture was also present. Ambassadors of Russia, Thailand, Mongolia and head of missions of various countries and Indian bureaucrats were also present on the occasion.

“I am happy to reiterate that Sittwe-Kaladan Port were jointly inaugurated by Admiral Tin Aung San, then Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Transport and Communications and Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister for the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India on 9 May 2023.”

While talking about the ongoing 1400-km long India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway which connects Manipur and Mae Sot via Myanmar, he said that it was the other major connectivity project that India was involved in. He said that 70 percent of the overall project has been completed. Once completed all, connectivity between India and Southeast Asian region will be established, contributing to the development of not only the concerned countries but also the whole region.

All praise for India, Ambassador Moe Kyaw Aung said, “I would like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to India for continuing development assistance, projects and cooperation with Myanmar. I also would like to express our sincere thanks to the Government of India for providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) materials for the people of Myanmar affected by Cyclone Mocha under the operation Karuna in May.”

Myanmar shares a long land border of over 1600 km with India in four north-eastern states of India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. It also shares a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. The geographical proximity of the two countries has also helped develop and sustain cordial relations and facilitated people-to-people contact. India-Myanmar relations are rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties, he added.

“Given Buddhist heritage, Myanmar and India share close cultural ties and a sense of deep kinship. We are bound by geography proximity, religious, cultural and people to people linkages that go back to antiquity. Myanmar’s affinity for Indian cuisine, Bollywood cinema, and music is a testament to our close cultural and geographical proximity. Myanmar and India enjoy good neighbourliness and time-tested friendly relations. Strong people-to- people contacts also reflect the linkages and interactions between the two friendly countries,” said Ambassador Moe Kyaw Aung.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations event commemorating 75 years of India-Myanmar relations was organized by the embassy with the support of Global Trade & Technology Council (India), India International Entrepreneur Federation and Myanmar, and India Goodwill and Development Association on December 23. Previously this year, the India Goodwill Diplomatic Relationship event was held in National Theatre on MyomaKyaung Street, Dagon Township on 14^th May.