India on Tuesday expressed its keenness to improve bilateral trade with Myanmar during the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the neighbouring nation.
"The Prime Minister said that Myanmar is a country blessed with natural resources. There is great potential for us to improve the bilateral trade. And although it is well below its potential, the effort is to enhance it," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told the media here.
Joint Secretary (Bangladesh and Myanmar) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Sripriya Ranganathan, highlighted New Delhi's relationship with Nay Pyi Taw.
"I would say that the best example of this co-operation and this co-operative spirit is the decision taken by the two governments to implement the Kaladan project. We see it as being totally a win-win kind of a project in which we get the access that we would seek to ensure to our North East, while Myanmar gets an asset which will benefit the people of a fairly backward and under-developed state," she said.
Ranganathan also stressed that more political visits will follow in the months ahead in order to reinvigorate India's relationship with Myanmar.
"Looking forward, we are trying to do a great deal on the political front. We are expecting a whole lot of visits over the next few months, which we think will further energise the relationship. This is something that we are really looking forward to because the exchange of interaction at the ministerial-level has been less than what we would have liked over the past few years and that is something that we would like to correct now," she said.
She also stated that the Indian industry is taking a serious relook on Myanmar as an investment destination.
"The interest level of Indian industry - India Inc. in Myanmar - has really increased.... say since 2011-2012 after the process of review of sanctions took place. That is when our companies started feeling that this is a country in which we should be looking at with greater interest," she added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who arrived in Nay Pyi Taw earlier in the day met with Myanmar President Thein Sein during which both leaders discussed the strengthening of ties in the fields of culture, commerce and connectivity.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to meet the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and East Asia Summit (EAS) nations during his trip.
The relations between India and Myanmar are rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties. As the land of Lord Buddha, India is a country of pilgrimage for the people of that nation. The geographical proximity has also helped develop and sustain cordial relations and facilitated people-to-people contact. India and Myanmar share a long land border of over 1600 kilometres and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
