Monday, 19 September 2011 23:03 Ko Pauk
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Former Indian ambassadors to Burma, former generals from the Indian Navy and Army, scholars and other experts held a closed-door meeting to discuss Indian foreign policy towards Burma at a meeting in Chanakya Puri, New Delhi, on Monday.
The group concluded that India’s foreign policy should be framed and adopted in accordance with the current world order and with the alignments of neigbouring countries.
“India changed its Burma policy in 1992. Most of the conclusions said that the current policy would not work for the benefit of the country judging from the results it has produced during these years,” said Dr. Tint Swe, a National League for Democracy MP who was elected in the 1990 general election, and who attended the meeting.
The Burmese ambassador to India, H.E. Zin Yaw, was scheduled to deliver the keynote address, but he didn’t turn up at the meeting.
Well-known journalist Bertil Lintner of Chiang Mai, Thailand, submitted a paper titled “Political Reconciliation: Reality or Chimera?” “He said in the paper that the changes [in Burma] were not yet believable and concluded with the line that they were not irreversible,” said Tint Swe.
The meeting, titled “Myanmar in Transition: Asian Perspectives,” was sponsored by the Vivekananda International Foundation.
About 30 people attended including former Indian ambassadors to Burma Ranjit Gupta, Rajiv Sikri, Kanwal Sibal, Rajiv Bhatia and Bhaskar Mitra.
Tint Swe said that the meeting allowed the participants to openly and frankly discuss Indo-Burma relations, and that serving Indian bureaucrats and senior foreign policy makers usually paid attention to the views of experienced former ambassadors.
India in recent years has been extending economic cooperation to Burma, particularly in areas of infrastructure and trade.
The Confederation of Indian Industry has organized a business delegation to go to Burma on November 9-12 that will focus on sectors including agriculture, food processing, automotives, biotechnology, drugs and pharmaceuticals, education, mining and mining equipment, information technology, infrastructure, forestry, gems and jewelry, power, telecoms, textiles and tourism.
India has been focusing on extending its economic influence as part of it “Look East” policy, which observers say is designed to counter some of China’s influence in the region.
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Former Indian ambassadors to Burma, former generals from the Indian Navy and Army, scholars and other experts held a closed-door meeting to discuss Indian foreign policy towards Burma at a meeting in Chanakya Puri, New Delhi, on Monday.
The group concluded that India’s foreign policy should be framed and adopted in accordance with the current world order and with the alignments of neigbouring countries.
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| Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, third from left, shakes hands with Senior-General Than Shwe, the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, at a ceremonial reception in New Delhi on July 27, 2010. Also shown are Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Kyaing Kyaing, the wife of Than Shwe. Photo: Mizzima |
“India changed its Burma policy in 1992. Most of the conclusions said that the current policy would not work for the benefit of the country judging from the results it has produced during these years,” said Dr. Tint Swe, a National League for Democracy MP who was elected in the 1990 general election, and who attended the meeting.
The Burmese ambassador to India, H.E. Zin Yaw, was scheduled to deliver the keynote address, but he didn’t turn up at the meeting.
Well-known journalist Bertil Lintner of Chiang Mai, Thailand, submitted a paper titled “Political Reconciliation: Reality or Chimera?” “He said in the paper that the changes [in Burma] were not yet believable and concluded with the line that they were not irreversible,” said Tint Swe.
The meeting, titled “Myanmar in Transition: Asian Perspectives,” was sponsored by the Vivekananda International Foundation.
About 30 people attended including former Indian ambassadors to Burma Ranjit Gupta, Rajiv Sikri, Kanwal Sibal, Rajiv Bhatia and Bhaskar Mitra.
Tint Swe said that the meeting allowed the participants to openly and frankly discuss Indo-Burma relations, and that serving Indian bureaucrats and senior foreign policy makers usually paid attention to the views of experienced former ambassadors.
India in recent years has been extending economic cooperation to Burma, particularly in areas of infrastructure and trade.
The Confederation of Indian Industry has organized a business delegation to go to Burma on November 9-12 that will focus on sectors including agriculture, food processing, automotives, biotechnology, drugs and pharmaceuticals, education, mining and mining equipment, information technology, infrastructure, forestry, gems and jewelry, power, telecoms, textiles and tourism.
India has been focusing on extending its economic influence as part of it “Look East” policy, which observers say is designed to counter some of China’s influence in the region.
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