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Need for transport links with Myanm



Need for transport links with Myanmar reiterated

By Our Special Correspondent
The Hindu Newspaper

New Delhi, Nov 3. India today reiterated the need for new transport
links with Myanmar to push economic and security ties between the two
countries.

The External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, today advocated the
need for greater economic cooperation with Myanmar, including
development of ?infrastructure projects.? The Minister made these
observations before the visiting Home Minister of Myanmar, Colonel Tin
Hlaing.

The Colonel is expected to hold discussions with the Home Minister. Mr.
L. K. Advani, tomorrow. His tour includes visits to Hyderabad, Mumbai
and Bangalore. While in Bangalore, he will visit the Indian Space
research Organization.

India attaches high importance to Myanmar on account of its strategic
location. With a 1600 km border with India, the country is seen as an
essential land bridge connecting South and South East Asia. Not
surprisingly, India wants to construct roads to Myanmar as part of its
efforts to draw physically closer to South-East Asia. New Delhi is
already engaged in constructing a border road from Tamu to Kalemyo, a
key communication junction in the center of Myanmar.

This link is seen as a gateway to the rest of East Asia, through which
India hopes to hook up with the larger Asian highway project in the
making. Once complete, the highway will connect most of Asia including
India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos up to China.
Besides the corridor to Kalemyo, India is already connected to Myanmar
by the Stilwel road, which cuts through Arunachal Pradesh.