PM to hold discussion on bilateral, regional issues with Myanmar leadership

New Delhi, May 24 (ANI): In an endeavor to carry forward the India-Myanmar relations rooted in shared historical, ethnic, cultural and religious ties, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will pay a three-day state visit to that country.

Dr. Singh, who is visiting Myanmar from May 27 to 29 at the invitation of President U. Thein Sein, will be accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur during the visit.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and senior officials will also accompany the Prime Minister on his visit.

A delegation of Indian business leaders will also visit Myanmar at the same time.

The visit to Myanmar by Dr. Singh will be the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 25 years. Myanmar's President U. Thein Sein had paid a state visit to India in October 2011.

During the visit, Dr. Singh and President Thein Sein will hold discussions in capital Nay Pyi Taw on bilateral, regional and other issues of mutual interest.

The President will host a banquet in honour of the Prime Minister of India.

Apart from the official engagements in Nay Pyi Taw, the Prime Minister will also visit Yangon where he is expected to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Chairperson of the National League for Democracy and other prominent personalities.

Dr. Singh will also deliver a public address on the theme "India and Myanmar: A Partnership for Progress and Regional Development" at a function organized by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Myanmar Development Resource Institute. There will also be interactions between the business delegations of the two sides.

Dr. Singh would also visit the historic Shwedagon Pagoda and the Mazar of the last Mughal Emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, in Yangon. He would also interact separately with the Indian community in Myanmar.

India and Myanmar share a long land border of over 1600 kilometers and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. A large population of Indian origin (according to some estimates about 2.5 million) lives in Myanmar.

India and Myanmar signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1951. The visit of the Primeinister of India in 1987 laid the foundations for a stronger relationship betweenndia and Myanmar. Since, the bilateral relations have developed and diversifiedatisfactorily.

A number of agreements enhancing bilateral Cooperation have been signed. Institutional mechanisms for facilitating regular dialogue on a range of issues of bilateral interest have also been established. (ANI)