Naypyitaw (Myanmar): A new onshore oil block that will be explored by Jubilant Technologies, a paper mill to be set up by JK Mills and a pump plant by Kirloskar are the immediate business gains of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Myanmar, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 25 years.
A joint statement by the two governments listed a host of other measures to bring India and Myanmar closer together. These included initiatives in economic cooperation, connectivity, development cooperation, trade and investment promotion, capacity building and human resource development, culture & people-to-people contacts, and academic exchanges.
Gaps in connectivity and physical infrastructural linkage with Myanmar in the highways, railways and civil aviation sectors are to be filled.
The scale of most of the projects undertaken is small, in recognition of the capacities of both sides. For instance, $5 million (Rs 27 crore) per year for five years will be allocated for small developmental projects such as schools, small roads & bridges, agriculture and agro-processing projects and related training programmes in the Naga Self Administered Zone (in the Sagaing division, bordering Manipur) and the Chin State (bordering Mizoram) in Myanmar. Road connectivity that will enable the Imphal-Mandalay bus service to be operational through the year (the road is currently unusable during the rainy season) will be undertaken.
An Air Services Agreement was signed, enabling Indian carriers to combine their flights to Myanmar with other destinations in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. A working group will discuss possibilities of enhancing rail connectivity, movement of freight from India to Southeast Asia and cooperation in the railway sector.
At the political level, the Prime Minister and President Thein Sein of Myanmar assured each other that territories of either country would not be allowed to be used for activities inimical to the other. This includes insurgents of all kinds.
No comments:
Post a Comment