By IANS,
New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, travelling to Myanmar Friday on his first bilateral trip abroad, would meet President Thein Sein as well as pro-democracy icon Aung Sang Suu Kyi.
The Dec 14-16 visit is aimed to “provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship and build further upon the momentum in bilateral relations”, said an external affairs ministry statement Thursday.
During the visit, Khurshid would also meet his Myanmar counterpart U. Wunna Maung Lwin in capital Nay Pyi Taw. Suu Kyi had visited India in November and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Khurshid would inaugurate the International Conference on Buddhist Cultural Heritage that is being jointly organised by India and Myanmar in Yangon Dec 15 (Saturday).
The minister is also scheduled to unveil the 15-foot high replica of the Sarnath Buddha statue in the precincts of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. The Buddha statue was gifted by the prime minister during his visit to Myanmar in May this year.
“India and Myanmar enjoy the closest ties of friendship and cooperation based upon the commonalities of history, culture, religion, ethnicity and spirituality. The exchange of high level visits over the past year has further strengthened these multifaceted ties.
“A number of new initiatives related to enhancing connectivity through land, sea and air; promoting bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the areas of security, border cooperation, trade and commerce, banking, agriculture, health, science and technology, information technology, culture; infrastructure development; capacity building and human resource development; organisation of training for Myanmar parliamentarians and parliamentary staff in India; and promotion of people-to-people contacts, among others; are under implementation by the two sides,” the statement said.