TNN Oct 14, 2011, 02.35AM IST
NEW DELHI: Dismissing all reports about rivalry with China in engaging with Myanmar, India on Thursday declared its intent to deepen economic engagement with Yangon by setting 2013-14 as the deadline for completing Sittwe port. It is a landmark project that will act as a trade gateway for India's north-eastern states to Southeast Asia.
On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold talks with Myanmarese President U Thein Sein, who began his four-day visit to India by visiting Bodh Gaya on Thursday. Ahead of his visit, India had also reiterated its opposition to sanctions imposed on Myanmar.
Expressing Yangon's keenness to expand ties with India across the spectrum, 13 senior ministers handling key portfolios are accompanying Thein Sein to India. Several pacts in areas related to economy and infrastructure development are expected to be signed after the talks.
Ways to expand security cooperation, especially in the context of north-eastern rebels suspected to be operating from the Myanmarese territory, will figure in the discussions. "We have received assurances that the Myanmarese territory will not be allowed for insurgent activities directed against India," Vishnu Prakash, the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, told reporters here.
Seeking to add greater economic heft to bilateral ties, India said it was confident of making the $120-million Sittwe deep water port functional by June 2013, and described Myanmar as "an important partner in India's quest for energy security".
The port will allow cargo vessels from landlocked Mizoram to navigate the Kaladan River and connect them to Myanmar and Southeast Asia. "We expect the highway to be completed by 2014," Harshvardhan Shringla, joint secretary in-charge of Myanmar in the external affairs ministry, said while referring to the multi-modal Kaladan project.
The two countries have set a target of nearly doubling their bilateral trade to $3 billion by 2015. Leading energy companies like ONGC Videsh, GAIL and the Essar Group plan to up their stakes in the oil and gas sector in Myanmar.
Ahead of the talks, New Delhi rejected competition with Beijing. "The relations between nations are not a zero sum game. There is room for everyone," Prakash said when asked whether India was seeking to counter China's growing influence in the Southeast Asian country.
"We have an important relationship with Myanmar. And we have an important relationship with China. There is no competition," Prakash added.
The MEA spokesperson underlined New Delhi's opposition to sanctions that have been slapped by some Western countries against Myanmar on account of its perceived human rights violations.
'We have distaste for sanctions. They do not serve the desired purpose and affect the people who are vulnerable," said Prakash when asked whether New Delhi would use its leverage with Western countries to lift sanctions following the reforms undertaken by the civilian government in Myanmar.
