Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla left today on a two-day visit. They will communicate with the leaders of Myanmar’s senior military officers. This visit is important as growing tension between India and China.
The visit will also come four days after the India-Myanmar foreign office consultations, which were conducted virtually by Shringla and permanent secretary U Soe Han on Thursday.
During that meeting as per reports, Shringla announced that the two sides are working to operationalise Sittwe port by the first quarter of 2021 while the tendering process for 69 bridges for the trilateral highway, also involving Thailand, will begin soon.
“Despite the challenges caused by the Covid pandemic, we are working towards operationalising the Sittwe port by the first quarter of next year. With respect to the 69 bridges on the trilateral highway, I am happy to inform you that we will soon be moving forward with the tendering process,” Shringla said.
”Security cooperation between India and Myanmar also figured in Thursday’s meeting, with Shringla describing it as robust. Both sides are sensitive to each other’s security concerns”, he added.
Myanmar’s handing over of 22 Indian insurgents was “deeply appreciated” by India as it sent a “strong message of deterrence to inimical elements on both sides”, he added.
“Our efforts towards ensuring an early, safe and sustainable repatriation of internally displaced persons to Myanmar will continue,” Shringla said.
Momen, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council during 2021-22, will play a “more meaningful role for a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis, including their early repatriation to Myanmar in a safe and sustainable manner”, according to a statement from Bangladesh’s foreign ministry.
