India, Myanmar sign economic cooperation agreements

New Delhi, Jun 25 (UNI) India and Myanmar have signed four economic cooperation agreements demonstrating the expanding partnership between the two countries.

The agreements were signed yesterday in the Myanmarese capital in the presence of Union Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh and Myanmar Minister for National Planning and Economic Development U Soe Tha.

According to a Manipur Government release issued here today, of the four agreements, the fourth one was between the United Bank of India and the Myanmar Economic Bank for providing the banking arrangement for the implementation of the border trade agreement between the two governments that took place at Moreh in Manipur.

Mr Ramesh also called on the Myanmar Minister for Commerce Brig General Tin Naing Thein and took up the expansion of border trade centres to include Behiang, Skip and Tusom in Manipur, Avangkhu and Lungwa in Nagaland, Zowkhathar in Mizoram and Pangsau Pass in Arunachal Pradesh.

In addition, the Union Minister informed Mr Thein that India would like to see normal trade at the border and not have it restricted only to specified items like at present in Moreh where trade was permitted only in 22 specified items.

The first agreement was the Bilateral Investment Promotion Agreement (BIPA) between the two governments designed to facilitate greater Indian investment in Myanmar and vice versa.

The Agreement provided a framework for the resolution of disputes, for promotion and protection of investment, for extending national treatment and most-favoured-nation treatment, for repatriation of investment and returns and for entry and sojourn of technical and managerial personnel.

The second agreement was a credit line agreement between the Exim Bank of India and the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank for 64 million dollars for financing three 230 kv transmission lines in Myanmar to be executed by the Power Grid Corporation of India.

The third agreement was a credit line agreement between the Exim Bank of India and the Myanmar Trade Bank for 20 million Dollar for financing the establishment of an aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) wire manufacturing facility to be used for expansion of the power distribution network in Myanmar.

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