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Summary In a landmark visit to Myanmar Indian PM Manmohan Singh Tuesday met Aung San Suu Kyi.
Singh has also handed over Indian ruling Congress party’s chairperson Sonia Gandhis invitation to Suu Kyi to visit India.Ahead of the Singh-Suu Kyi meeting in Yangon, which saw the pro-democracy icon sticking to protocol and calling on the Indian premier, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said, Suu Kyi is one of the important leaders of Myanmar and its natural for the Prime Minister to receive her with due courtesy and convey our best wishes for a national reconciliation for a democratic process to blossom in this country.Asked what commitments India can make in helping democracy flourish in Myanmar, Krishna said, Who are we to make more commitments to the democratic process here. This is a free, sovereign country with which we have diplomatic and other relationships.The meeting with the India-educated, 66-year-old Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi is taking place a day after Singhs talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein who is credited with initiating a series of political reforms in the last one year.It speaks volumes of the changed environment in Myanmar that Singh is meeting leaders at opposite ends of the political spectrum, in a break from the past few years when Indian leaders, including former President A P J Abdul Kalam and Vice President Hamid Ansari, visited this country but could not meet Suu Kyi who had been under house arrest.Singhs meeting with Suu Kyi is seen as a clear sign that New Delhi wants a reaffirmation of ties with the democracy activist after facing international criticism in the past for its engagement with Myanmars former military junta.On Monday, India announced that it would provide a $500 million line of credit to Myanmar as the two countries signed 12 agreements on a range of sectors, including air services, marking the beginning of a new journey of bilateral cooperation.It is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Myanmar in the quarter of a century.
