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He will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, after visiting Bodh Gaya in Bihar over the weekend. He will also travel to Mumbai on Tuesday.

#WATCH | Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing will visit India on Saturday and is scheduled to travel to Bodh Gaya and Mumbai.

During the visit, he will also hold talks with PM Narendra Modi on strengthening India-Myanmar bilateral ties.

Hlaing, the former chief of the military junta government, was elected President on April 3 through a ‌parliamentary vote – five years after the elected government was ousted in a coup.

Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that Hlaing, who was scheduled to arrive in India to participate in the International Big Cat Alliance Summit on June 1, which has since been deferred, will now pay an official visit to the country from May 30 to June 3.

He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising several Cabinet ministers, senior officials and business leaders.

“During his visit to New Delhi, President U Min Aung Hlaing will hold discussions with Prime Minister Modi on June 1 on further strengthening the historical and civilisational ties between the two countries. He will also participate in a business forum,” the MEA spokesperson said.

“Regarding border security, connectivity, and other issues, all matters that form part of the gamut of relations between Myanmar and India will come up for discussion. Our idea is to take our friendly, civilizational ties forward,” Jaiswal said.

During his Mumbai visit, Hlaing will hold business and industry interactions besides site visits.

On strategic objectives behind the visit, the MEA spokesperson said that “Myanmar lies at the confluence of India’s Neighborhood First, Act East and MAHASAGAR policies. The official visit of President U Min Aung Hlaing to India is expected to further strengthen and deepen the multi-faceted relations between the two countries”.

Officials said that India shares a long land border of over 1643 kms with Myanmar as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four northeastern states, viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, have a boundary with Myanmar. This makes it important to engage with Myanmar’s leadership for security and defence domains, officials said, despite the challenges and the human rights concerns there.

A state of emergency was imposed in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, and the state power was taken over by the State Administrative Council, headed by the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Armed Forces Senior General Hlaing, who became the Prime Minister of the provisional government. He is now the president of Myanmar.

India shares a long land border with Myanmar as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four northeastern states, viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, share a boundary with the southeast Asian nation. This makes it important for India to engage with Myanmar’s leadership for security and defence domains, despite the challenges and the human rights concerns there.