NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing’s first foreign trip since the former junta chief became president following a widely-criticised election.
The Myanmar leader, sanctioned by the US and western countries for leading a coup in 2021, arrived in India on May 30 and is scheduled to meet Modi in New Delhi Monday (June 1), according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Modi becomes the first foreign leader to meet Min Aung Hlaing in the latter’s capacity as president, though Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Myanmar in April.
The two leaders will hold talks "on further strengthening the historical and civilisational ties between the two countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
Myanmar has sent a high-level delegation comprising cabinet ministers, senior officials and business leaders to accompany the president, who will also attend a business forum.
Myanmar has been isolated for about five years since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in February 2021, with coup leader Min Aung Hlaing being banned from regional summits.
He was sworn in as president on April 10, and is seeking international recognition after an election from which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and major opposition parties were banned.
Min Aung Hlaing has already invited Indian businesses to invest in neighbouring Myanmar, including the Yadanabon Cyber City project in the Mandalay region, according to Myanmar state media, which reported he assured them of a trustworthy business environment in a meeting in New Delhi on Sunday.
The Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project and the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway are expected to facilitate bilateral trade while opening up the Asean-India economic corridor, he said, according to the report.
Prior to his meeting with Modi, Min Aung Hlaing met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on May 30, visited Bodh Gaya in Bihar and prayed at the Mahabodhi temple.
He will travel to Mumbai on Tuesday for business and industry interactions and site visits. - Bloomberg
