Indian Vice President’s Visit to Myanmar: Cementing India-Myanmar Ties
K Yhome
Associate Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi
e-mail: khriezo@gmail.com

Geopolitics in the region warrants India’s engagement with Myanmar. New Delhi needs a friendly government in Naypyitaw to keep alive its hope of bringing gas from Myanmar to India, for tackling insurgency and the development of its border regions and for strengthening ties with Southeast Asian countries. Also, the evolving ties of Naypyitaw with Beijing and Islamabad remain a strategic challenge for New Delhi. It is in this evolving geostrategic context that the recent visit of India’s Vice President, M Hamid Ansari, to Myanmar assumes importance. 

The past decade has seen phenomenal growth in the relations between India and Myanmar. A clear indication of strong political relations between the two countries can be seen in the frequency of high-level exchanges forming an integral part of the relationship. Ansari has described his meeting with Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, as “extremely fruitful” and the official newspaper, New Light of Myanmar described the meetings as “cordial.” The two leaders discussed the entire gamut of bilateral ties covering trade, economic cooperation, power sector and security. Three important Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed during the visit on setting up an industrial training centre, a centre for English language, an entrepreneurship training centre and also an investment promotion and protection agreement. 

The focus of the visit was clearly on economic and security cooperation. The strong economic content can be seen in the high-level Indian business delegation which accompanied the Vice President including officials of the Steel Authority of India, TATA Motors, Gas Authority of India Ltd., Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. (BHEL), HMT, ONGC Videsh Ltd., National Hydroelectric Power Corp. Ltd (NHPC), Essar and TCIL. The need to involve Indian private investors in Myanmar has long been felt as being necessary to improve economic ties. In recent years, the two countries have expanded and diversified their relations in sectors including energy, infrastructure, road, industry, trade, IT, telecom, education and culture. Bilateral trade reached US$995 million in 2007-08 and India is today, Myanmar’s fourth largest trading partner and second largest export market. Up till mid-2008, India had invested over US$200 million in Myanmar.

However, the volume of bilateral trade remains low as compared to Myanmar’s other neighbours. One of the main reasons for this has been identified as Indian private companies’ lack of interest to invest in Myanmar. With the visit, it is hoped that more Indian companies will show greater interest. The agreement for setting up a truck manufacturing unit in Myanmar by TATA Motors, is an important beginning. The opening of the 500km-long optical fiber link between Moreh in Manipur and Mandalay in Myanmar would facilitate better communication and broadband connectivity. Effort needs to be made to connect the link with other neighbouring states. Four days after the visit ended, a report in an Indian newspaper, citing a BHEL official, said BHEL and NHPC may together build the 2,400 MW Tamanti hydropower project in Myanmar; reviving the delayed US$2.8 billion project.

Concerns about border security between the two countries also figured prominently in discussions during the visit. For years, insurgent groups have been using the porous India-Myanmar border for their nefarious activities such as smuggling of arms and drugs. While the two countries have been cooperating in counterinsurgency in the border region for over a decade now, concerns remain. Myanmar’s leadership has again assured New Delhi that it would not allow its soil to be used by insurgent groups to target India. 

Though there is no formal defence agreement between the two countries, India has been providing arms and ammunitions to Myanmar with the aim of strengthening counterinsurgency operations. With reports of India’s Northeastern insurgent groups shifting their bases from Bangladesh to Myanmar in the recent months, New Delhi has asked Myanmar to take timely action against the insurgents on receipt of intelligence from Indian security forces. In April last year, a MoU on intelligence exchange to combat transnational crime, including terrorism, was signed between the two countries.

The agreement to set up industrial, entrepreneurship and language training centres by India will go a long way in building capacity and skills for the youth of Myanmar. More such initiatives need to be explored in the future because the returns will certainly be in the long-term interest of both countries. India’s help to Myanmar in resolving some social issues, such as in the education and health sectors will go a long way in minimizing trans-border problems. HIV/AIDS and the spread of drugs in the Northeast region is a major social security challenge. Unless concerted efforts are initiated to root out the problems from where they emanate, it will not be possible to resolve them at the other end. 

Overall, the Indian Vice President’s visit and its results will add to India’s important stakes in the long-term relationship between the two countries and will certainly help to promote India’s image and presence in Myanmar.

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