Modi hails meeting with Myanmar president as ‘wonderful’

The Prime Minister left for Nay Pyi Taw from Xiamen where he attended the annual BRICS summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he had a "wonderful meeting" with Myanmar President Htin Kyaw during which they discussed steps to deepen the "historical relationship" between the two neighbours.

PM Modi called on President Kyaw soon after he arrived in the country on his first bilateral visit.

"Had a wonderful meeting with President U Htin Kyaw," PM Modi tweeted along with some pictures of the meeting. He also presented the Myanmar president a reproduction of a 1841 map of a stretch of the River Salween (that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea) and a sculpture of the Bodhi tree.

PM Modi, who visited Myanmar President U Htin Kyaw presented a reproduction of a 1841 map of a stretch of the River Salween, and a sculpture of Bodhi tree.

The Prime Minister left for Nay Pyi Taw, the capital city of Myanmar, from this southeastern Chinese city where he attended the annual BRICS summit and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders.

Modi had said India and Myanmar will look at strengthening existing cooperation in areas of security and counter-terrorism, trade and investment, infrastructure and energy, and culture.

He hoped his visit will help in charting a roadmap for closer cooperation between the two countries. The prime minister said both countries will review developments in bilateral ties with a focus on "extensive" programme of development cooperation and socio-economic assistance India is undertaking in Myanmar.

Modi said he was looking forward to paying a visit to the famed heritage city of Bagan, where the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has done a "stellar work" in renovating the Ananda Temple. The ASI will be undertaking further restoration work on a number of pagodas and murals that were damaged in an earthquake last year, he said.

Modi had visited Myanmar in 2014 to attend the ASEAN- India Summit. The Myanmarese president and Suu Kyi had visited India last year. Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

PTI