Transport tops agenda of Myanmar general�s visit

Peninsula

New Delhi � The second-highest ranking general in Myanmar�s military junta Senior General Maung Aye arrived here yesterday to start his five-day visit, whose highlight is an agreement to link India�s northeastern states to Myanmar�s port of Sittwe on the Bay of Bengal.

Maung held talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday afternoon, followed by meetings with President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Later in the evening, he was to hold extensive discussions with Vice-President Hamid Ansari at Hyderabad House, followed by a ceremony to sign agreements.

Last week, the federal cabinet approved for signing an accord with Myanmar for constructing the multi-modal Kaladan transport corridor, which will allow the northeastern states access to the sea, bypassing Bangladesh. The project is expected to be the highlight of Maung�s visit.

The Kaladan project includes upgrading the Sittwe port and Kaladan waterway as well as construction of a road from Setpyitpyin (Kaletwa) to the India-Myanmar border at a cost of Rs5.3bn. Besides signing a framework agreement on the project, India and Myanmar are also expected to ink pacts on a protocol for transit transport, bilateral investment promotion and protection and double taxation avoidance.

The senior general, his wife and the delegation will then travel to the Buddhist sites of Sanchi, Sarnath and Gaya. Maung will also be going to Bangalore, where he will visit the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and major IT companies. He will also travel to Jamnagar in Gujarat to visit the Reliance Petroleum refinery.

To coincide with the visit, Myanmar�s exiled pro-democracy activists have been on a sit-in here since March 31 to protest the policies of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

�We have been protesting against the SPDC, its new constitution and the upcoming referendum,� said L R Sanga, president of Chin Students Association. He added that 27 pro-democracy associations in India have organised the protest.