Narendra Modi in Myanmar: President Htin Kyaw welcomes Indian PM in Nay Pyi Taw on his first bilateral visit

Nay Pyi Taw: Myanmar President Htin Kyaw on Tuesday welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, soon after he arrived in the country on his first bilateral visit. Modi reached Nay Pyi Taw on the final leg of his two-nation visit after attending the BRICS Summit in China. External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted a few images of Kyaw welcoming Modi. The two leaders also inspected the guard of honour.

PM @narendramodi welcomed by the President U Htin Kyaw; both leaders inspect the guard of honour. pic.twitter.com/2v1vHDXbKi

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2017

The prime minister’s visit to Myanmar comes amid a spike in ethnic violence with Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state. Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with Myanmar’s state counsellor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday. He is expected to raise the issue of the exodus of the ethnic Rohingyas into neighbouring countries. The Indian government is also concerned about Rohingya immigrants in the country, and has been considering to deport them. Around 40,000 Rohingyas are said to be staying illegally in India. India and Myanmar were also looking at strengthening existing cooperation in areas of security and counter-terrorism, trade and investment, infrastructure and energy, and culture, Modi had said ahead of his visit. This is Modi’s first bilateral visit to Myanmar. He had visited the country 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.