In what some are seeing as the first step toward a stronger assertion of its interests in Myanmar, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will arrive in Nay Pyi Taw on May 1 in the country’s first high-level engagement with Myanmar since the National League for Democracy government took office. The minister will meet President U Htin Kyaw and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who also holds the post of foreign minister.
As India is the world’s largest democracy and Myanmar’s immediate neighbour, many are wondering why the visit did not take place sooner: Ms Swaraj is already three weeks behind China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the first foreign dignitary to visit Myanmar since its handover to an elected civilian-led government on March 30.
The larger goal of Ms Swaraj’s mission is to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of India’s Act East Policy, which was initially introduced by the Congress government as “Look East Policy”. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
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