PM's Thailand visit: Narendra Modi meets State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi

Recalling his last visit to Myanmar in September 2017, and the visit of the State Counsellor to India during the ASEAN-India commemorative Summit in January 2018, the leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress of the vital partnership between the two countries.

Prime Minister emphasized the priority India attaches to Myanmar as a partner at the crossroads of India's Look East Policy and the Neighbourhood First policies.

Towards this end, he emphasized India's continuing commitment to improve physical connectivity to and through Myanmar to Southeast Asia, including through building road, port and other infrastructure. India would also continue to strongly support the expansion of capacity for Myanmar's police, military and civil servants, as well as its students and citizens.

The leaders agreed that people to people connectivity would help expand the base of the partnership, and therefore welcomed the expansion of air connectivity between the two countries, and the growing interest of India's businesses in Myanmar, including the plans of the Government of India to host a business event for the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) in Yangon at the end of November 2019.

State Counsellor Daw Suu Kyi reaffirmed the importance her Government attached to the partnership with India, and her appreciation of India's consistent and sustained support for the widening of democracy and deepening of development in Myanmar.

The two Leaders agreed that a stable and peaceful border was an important anchor for the continued expansion of our partnership.

The Prime Minister emphasized the value India attaches to Myanmar's cooperation in ensuring that insurgent groups do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border.

With regard to the situation in Rakhine, following the completion of the first Indian project to build 250 prefabricated houses--which were handed over to the Myanmar Government this July--PM expressed India's readiness to carry out more socio-economic projects in this State.

The PM emphasized that the speedy, safe and sustainable return from Bangladesh of displaced people to their homes in Rakhine State was in the interests of the region, the displaced persons, and all three neighbouring States: India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The two Leaders agreed to maintain the tempo of high level interactions in the year ahead, recognizing that strong ties across all pillars of cooperation were in the fundamental interests of both countries.