The leader of Myanmar’s military-backed government embarked on an official visit to India, one of the country’s key regional partners, for high-level meetings aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.
It is the first time Min Aung Hlaing has travelled to the neighbouring country since he was sworn into office as president in April following an election that critics say was orchestrated to maintain the military’s tight grip on power. His last visit to India was in 2019 as military chief.
India has maintained ties with Myanmar’s military-backed administrations despite Western sanctions imposed after the military seized power from the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and launched a crackdown on opponents that evolved into a nationwide armed conflict and humanitarian crisis.
State-run MRTV television said Hlaing departed on a flight from the capital, Naypyidaw, on Saturday morning and landed at Gaya International Airport in India’s eastern state of Bihar, near Bodh Gaya, a major Buddhist pilgrimage site.
The report said he would have meetings with India’s President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as government officials and representatives from business organisations, to discuss ways to strengthen ties and foster cooperation in the economic, religious, cultural and social sectors.
The president, who is accompanied by members of his Cabinet, would also visit prominent infrastructure facilities during the trip, MRTV said.
Critics have expressed concern and charged that Hlaing’s visit to India will do more to legitimise the military-backed government.
“We condemn India’s decision to host Min Aung Hlaing, who is a war criminal waging a campaign of terror against the Myanmar people,” said Yadanar Maung, a spokesperson for the Justice For Myanmar activist group, in an e-mailed statement on Friday.
She said India has long supported Myanmar’s military through military training programmes and business ties.
“India must change course, stop awarding false legitimacy to the junta, stop profiting from the military’s campaign of terror against the people, and instead support the Myanmar people who are struggling and sacrificing daily for federal democracy,” said Yadanar Maung. — AP
