President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a customary southern sojourn here, today hosted a reception at the Rashtapathi Nilayam where Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his cabinet colleagues were in attendence.
Besides Rao and his ministerial colleagues, Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E S L Narasimhan, Andhra Legislative Council Chairman A Chakrapani and his Telangana counterpart K Swamygoud, among others, were present on the occasion.
Ace shettler P V Sindhu and other prominent personalities from various walks of life also attended the event.
Mukherjee's 14-day southern sojourn ends tomorrow. It is customary for the President to visit the Rashtrapathi Nilayam on a sojourn at least once a year and conduct official business from there.
Rashtrapathi Nilayam is one of the presidential retreats. Built during the Nizam era, the single-storeyed estate was handed over to the government after Independence.
Referring to the old bonds between the two nations,
Mukherjee said India shares a "long-standing historical and cultural relationship with Myanmar which has been cemented by our shared struggle against colonialism".
"India has been consistently supportive of Myanmar's progress from military rule towards democracy in recent years guided by the wisdom of its civilian and military leaders and the political sagacity of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who led the democratic forces.
"As a close friend and a country whose democratic institutions have matured over the years, India celebrates Myanmar's success and will continue to support Myanmar in strengthening democracy in their country. India is committed to assist in any way that India can in the development and initiatives for the progress of the people of Myanmar," he said.
The President said India looks forward to work with Myanmar in areas that it has prioritised such as infrastructure development, connectivity, capacity-building, education, healthcare and the setting up of small development projects.
"Government of India stands ready to extend unstinting support whenever, wherever, and however Myanmar desires it for achieving the aspirations of its people and the policies of Government of Myanmar," he said.
