India, Myanmar hold 17th round of consultations

Senior officials of India and Myanmar met for the 17th round of Foreign Office Consultations on Thursday during which various aspects of bilateral relations including security concerns were discussed at length. The two sides also discussed developments in the Rakhine State and Myanmar’s efforts for repatriation of Rohingya refugees.

The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale while the Myanmar side was led by U Myint Thu, Permanent Secretary, Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that during the discussions, the two sides reviewed the complete range of bilateral relations, including high level visits, security and defence related issues, boundary matters and border management, trade and commerce, development cooperation, connectivity, cultural and consular matters. They also exchanged views on sub-regional, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

India has major concerns with regard to security in the bordering areas with Mayanmar. Last month, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during her two-day visit to Myanmar had extensive discussions with her counterpart on this issue and also that of repatriation of Rohingya refugees. India is helping Myanmar with financial aid for the resettlement of Rohingyas following their repatriation.