President Kalam to leave for Mauritius tomorrow

New Delhi, Mar 7: President A P J Abdul kalam leaves tomorrow on a six-day, two-nation visit to Myanmar and Mauritius with an objective of consolidating economic and political ties and offering India's expertise in remote sensing satellite network and Information Technology.

Dr Kalam, who will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Shayam Saran and other senior functionaries of various ministries, will seek to engage Myanmar's military junta in eliminating insurgents operating in north-eastern region and developing a long-term strategy in the hydro-carbon sector to meet India's growing need for energy.

This will be the first visit of an Indian President to Myanmar as in the past the relations with Yangon remained somewhat lukewarm because of dismal human rights record of the military junta and detention of democracy icon Aung Suu Kyi and over 1100 other political activists clamouring for a democratic set up.

Dr Kalam is likely to push through a project which will allow Yangon access Indian remote sensing technology. Myanmar has planned a network of stations that will allow the Indian Space Reserach Organisation (ISRO) play a greater role in the region.

As part of India's 'Look east Policy'', Dr Kalam will discuss with the top military brass, including State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) chairman Senior General Than Shwe, the entire gamut of bilateral issues, including gas pipeline and trade route that links India with the ASEAN.

The visit, at the invitation of Senior General Shwe, would mark ''culmination of the upswing in bilateral relations in recent years'', official sources said.

This also marks the highest-level visit from India to Myanmar after Rajiv Gandhi travelled to Yangon in December 1987.

Interestingly, Dr Kalam will be making his first visit to a neighbouring country since assuming office in July 2002.

During his stay in Yangon, Dr Kalam will address professors and students at Yangon University, interact with scientists, intellectuals and school children as well as pay respects at the historic Scwe Dagon Pagoda and at the mausoleum of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II.

This will be followed by a visit to Bagan and Mandalay, a cultural and religious centre of Buddhism having more than 700 pagodas.

From Yangon, the President travels to Port Louis, the capital of Indian Ocean country of Mauritius to be the chief guest at its National Day celebrations on March 12.

During his stay in Mauritius, he will meet President Anerood Jaugnauth and other leaders and interact with them on consolidation of economic relations, particularly in the IT and investment sectors.

Dr Kalam's itinerary in Mauritius also includes an interaction with scientists and CEOs of IT companies during his three-day stay to the country.

An agreement is slated to be signed with the Telecommunications Consultants of India Ltd, which will be integrated with the Pan-African e-network project, an initiative of the Indian President.

UNI