Sushma Swaraj to visit Myanmar May 10-11

In keeping with India's continuing engagements with Myanmar after it got a democratic government in 2016, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit the eastern neighbour on May 10-11, it was announced on Thursday.

Briefing the media here, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that the visit "is part of the ongoing high-level interaction which we have with the government of Myanmar".

Kumar said that, during the visit, Suham Swaraj will hold discussions with the Myanmar leadership on various bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

"They are expected to also review the progress made on the decisions taken during the last visit of Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) to Myanmar in September 2017 to reinforce our bilateral relationship," he said.

"Several key agreements covering diverse aspects of our bilateral relations are expected to be signed during this visit."

India is a key development aid partner for Myanmar and is implementing a number of infrastructure projects in that country.

These include the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project connecting Mizoram with Sittwe port in Myanmar, the Trilateral Highway Project connecting India with Myanmar and Thailand, and the Rhi-Tiddim road.

The Rohingya refugee crisis is also expected to come up for discussion during Sushma Swaraj's visit.

India has called for a long-term solution for socio-economic development in Myanmar's Rakhine State to solve the crisis.

--IANS

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