Strategic
- Myanmar is geopolitically significant to India as it stands at the center of the India-Southeast Asia geography.
- Being the only country that sits at the intersection of India’s “Neighborhood First” policy and its “Act East” policy, and serves as a land bridge to connect South Asia and Southeast Asia.
- Myanmar is the only Southeast Asian country that shares a land border with northeastern India, along with maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
Regional economic cooperation
- Myanmar is an important member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) & Mekong Ganga Cooperation significance in the context of our “Act East” policy.
- Facilitating connectivity is central to improving India-Myanmar economic relations. India regards Myanmar as a gateway to link up to the rest of Southeast Asia, and thus has invested in ASEAN-wide infrastructural projects that are able to boost trade in the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area.
Co-operation in Regional Security
- Myanmar has reaffirmed its respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and adopted the policy of not allowing any insurgent group to utilise Myanmar’s soil to undertake hostile acts against the Indian Government.
Indian Diaspora
- The origin of the Indian community in Myanmar is traced to the mid-19th century with the advent of the British rule in Lower Burma in1852.
- There are varying estimates of 1.5-2.5 million people of Indian origin living and working in various parts of Myanmar.
