New Delhi, September 6 (Reuters): India believes that the best way to solve the Rohingya Muslim problem in North West Myanmar is to develop the area economically.
Projects such as the Kaladan transport project would be helpful said Indian foreign ministry official Sripriya Ranganathan.
“We are very confident that once that complete corridor is functional, there will be a positive impact on the situation in the state,” she told reporters.
Modi will meet Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and visit the heritage city of Bagan and a Hindu temple. The countries share close cultural ties, and several in Myanmar trace their roots to India.
Modi will also talk up a trilateral highway project connecting India’s northeast with Myanmar and Thailand.
“There is a fear that China is already going full steam ahead,” said Udai Bhanu Singh of Delhi think-tank, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. “From the Indian side, there has been some laxity.”
Singh said India could offer Myanmar help in building its navy and coastguard, while Myanmar would seek assurances that India was a reliable economic partner and an alternative power to Beijing.
(The featured picture at the top shows Indian External Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary Sripriya Ranganathan)
