Development Cooperation
- Development Cooperation valued at $1.4 Billion (through grants) is substantive.
- Capacity building has been accorded priority, several new institutions were set up for Agricultural education, Information Technology and Industrial training. They have benefited Myanmar Youth immensely.
- Over 100 projects have been completed as part of the Border Development Programme in Western Myanmar.
- Two of the major connectivity projects i.e., Kaladan Project and Trilateral Highway are major cause of concern and needs high level attention. and they are part of policy for the Indian Ocean called Security and Growth for All in the Region(SAGAR), central to which is “port-led development,”
Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport
Aims to connect the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with the Sittwe deep-water port in Myanmar’s Rakhine state by sea.
India developed the Sittwe port in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Multi-modal trinity of sea, river and road transport corridor to boost interconnectivity.
Cement India’s footprint in Rakhine and boost its presence in the Bay of Bengal.
Defence cooperation
- The Indian and Myanmar armies have carried out two joint military operations, codenamed Operation Sun shine, to fight militants along the borders of Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
- India provides military training and conducts joint military exercises with the Myanmar Army like the India-Myanmar Bilateral Military Exercise (IMBAX-2017and IMBEX 2018-19), by which India had trained the Myanmar Army to be able to participate in UN Peacekeeping Operations.
- India and Myanmar signed a landmark defense cooperation agreement.
- The navies of both India and Myanmar conducted a historic bilateral naval exercise, IMNEX-18.
- India also invited the Myanmar Army to participate in the India-led multilateral Milan naval exercisethat occurs biennially in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- To elevate its “Made in India” arms industry, India has identified Myanmar as key to increasing its military exports. Myanmar bought India’s first locally-produced anti-submarine torpedo, called TAL Shyena, acquired a diesel-electric Kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhuvir.
Commercial Co-operation
- India is Burma’s 4th largest trading partner after Thailand, China, and Singapore.
- India is the second-largest export market for Burmese exports after Thailand.
- The agriculture sector dominates the bilateral trade which comprises mostly of pulses and beans imports to India.
- India is additionally the tenth largest investor in Myanmar. India has substantial investments in Myanmar’s oil and gas sector.
- India and Myanmar have decided to work together to launch India’s RuPay Card in that country at the earliest and explore the creation of a digital payment gateway.
People to people contact:
- Buddhist Circuit initiative, seeks to double foreign tourist arrivals and revenue by connecting ancient Buddhist heritage sites across different states in India.
- It could also build up India’s diplomatic reservoir of goodwill and trust with Buddhist-majority countries such as Myanmar.
- India’s assistance in restoring of the Ananda temple in Bagan and two temples in Bodh Gaya built by Burmese rulers has been widely appreciated in Myanmar.
- India’s timely help of medicines and equipment to fight the Corona pandemic also received positive response in Myanmar.
Cooperation at Political & Diplomatic Levels
- Cooperation on political and diplomatic levels exist in ample measures.
- Since 2014, seven visits at the head of state/government level took place resulting in numerous agreements and deepening of mutual understanding.
- Liaison Office of the embassy of India was inaugurated recently, where, only a few countries have set-up such offices.
