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Jaswant to go on 3-day Burma tour s
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JASWANT TO GO ON 3-DAY BURMA TOUR SOON
By Our Correspondent
(From The Asian Age, February 11, 2001)
New Delhi, Feb. 10 : Three months after India received Gen. Maung Aye,
the second most powerful member of Burma?s military junta, external
affairs minister Jaswant Singh is preparing to visit Rangoon next week.
It is the first high level visit from India to Burma since 1987, when
the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had made the trip. Mr Atal Behari
Vajpayee was the last external affairs minister to visit the Southeast
Asian nation in 1977.
During his three-day visit, beginning from February 13, Mr Singh will
inaugurate 165 kms long Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalewa highway near the India-Burma
border. The road link between the two nations was being awaited by the
local population. It will pave the way for greater cross border
linkages.
The inauguration of the road link would be attended by ministers from
the state governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and
Nagaland. The road, which has been built at an estimated cost of around
Rs 100 crore is a joint effort of Border Roads Organisation.
After the inauguration, Mr Singh will leave for Rangoon to hold
bilateral talks with his counterpart and General Than Shwe, chairman of
the ruling state peace and development council.
Besides Gen. Shwe who is also the Prime Minister and the defence
minister, Mr Singh will have intensive parleys with his counterpart U
Win Aung. The two sides will take up a number of issues including
international terrorism and drug trafficking.
They will also discuss economic cooperation, trade, cross-border
projects. The two neighbouring countries will discuss steps to enhance
regional cooperation. India and Burma have expressed serious concern
over drug trafficking, insurgency and smuggling of illegal arms along
the 1600 km-long border.
The visit by Mr Jaswant Singh comes in the wake of growing domestic
criticism of India?s Burma policy. The opening up of ties with the
nation which is ruled by a military junta is being seen as a shift in
New Delhi?s policy.
A senior official of the external affairs ministry said that India had
always maintained a policy of non-interference in the internal matters
of other countries. The official said that the system of governance in
Burma was an internal matter.
Experts said that growing influence of China in Burma has been one of
the prime concerns for India. Besides, the economic relations between
the two nations were significant. For India, Burma is the window to the
Asean region.
India is the biggest market for Burmese exports, buying about $220
million worth of goods in the 1999/2000 (April-March) fiscal year. India
has assisted Burma in a number of fields. Mr Jaswant Singh will also
inaugurate a remote sensing and data processing centre at Rangoon on
February 15. The centre is built with assistance from ISRO.
On the issue of cross-border movement of insurgents and drug trafficking
the two countries are in regular contact at the home ministry level with
home secretary Kamal Pande and deputy home minister of Burma being in
constant touch.
There have been military co-operation between the two nations. The two
countries signed a memorandum of understanding for co-operation in
development of road in 1997. In 1998, at a trade review meeting it was
agreed to boost the relations into a regular trade arrangement which
would promote trade between the two countries.
An MoU between banks was concluded last year. There is also a
possibility of an agreement for development of hydel project. In 1998
and 1999 two agreements were signed on cooperation in agriculture and
science and technology respectively. Last month an agreement on culture
was concluded.
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<center><b><font color="#3333FF"><font size=+1>JASWANT TO GO ON 3-DAY BURMA
TOUR SOON</font></font></b></center>
<p><br>
<br>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>By Our Correspondent</font></font>
<br><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>(From The Asian Age, February 11,
2001)</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>New Delhi, Feb. 10 : Three months
after India received Gen. Maung Aye, the second most powerful member of
Burma?s military junta, external affairs minister Jaswant Singh is preparing
to visit Rangoon next week.</font></font>
<br>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>It is the first high level visit
from India to Burma since 1987, when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
had made the trip. Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee was the last external affairs
minister to visit the Southeast Asian nation in 1977.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>During his three-day visit, beginning
from February 13, Mr Singh will inaugurate 165 kms long Tamu-Kalemyo-Kalewa
highway near the India-Burma border. The road link between the two nations
was being awaited by the local population. It will pave the way for greater
cross border linkages.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>The inauguration of the road link
would be attended by ministers from the state governments of Arunachal
Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Nagaland. The road, which has been
built at an estimated cost of around Rs 100 crore is a joint effort of
Border Roads Organisation.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>After the inauguration, Mr Singh
will leave for Rangoon to hold bilateral talks with his counterpart and
General Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling state peace and development council.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>Besides Gen. Shwe who is also the
Prime Minister and the defence minister, Mr Singh will have intensive parleys
with his counterpart U Win Aung. The two sides will take up a number of
issues including international terrorism and drug trafficking.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>They will also discuss economic
cooperation, trade, cross-border projects. The two neighbouring countries
will discuss steps to enhance regional cooperation. India and Burma have
expressed serious concern over drug trafficking, insurgency and smuggling
of illegal arms along the 1600 km-long border.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>The visit by Mr Jaswant Singh comes
in the wake of growing domestic criticism of India?s Burma policy. The
opening up of ties with the nation which is ruled by a military junta is
being seen as a shift in New Delhi?s policy.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>A senior official of the external
affairs ministry said that India had always maintained a policy of non-interference
in the internal matters of other countries. The official said that the
system of governance in Burma was an internal matter.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>Experts said that growing influence
of China in Burma has been one of the prime concerns for India. Besides,
the economic relations between the two nations were significant. For India,
Burma is the window to the Asean region.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>India is the biggest market for
Burmese exports, buying about $220 million worth of goods in the 1999/2000
(April-March) fiscal year. India has assisted Burma in a number of fields.
Mr Jaswant Singh will also inaugurate a remote sensing and data processing
centre at Rangoon on February 15. The centre is built with assistance from
ISRO.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>On the issue of cross-border movement
of insurgents and drug trafficking the two countries are in regular contact
at the home ministry level with home secretary Kamal Pande and deputy home
minister of Burma being in constant touch.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>There have been military co-operation
between the two nations. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding
for co-operation in development of road in 1997. In 1998, at a trade review
meeting it was agreed to boost the relations into a regular trade arrangement
which would promote trade between the two countries.</font></font>
<p><font color="#990000"><font size=+1>An MoU between banks was concluded
last year. There is also a possibility of an agreement for development
of hydel project. In 1998 and 1999 two agreements were signed on cooperation
in agriculture and science and technology respectively. Last month an agreement
on culture was concluded.</font></font>
<p> </html>
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