India, Myanmar sign 11 MoUs to bolster bilateral relationship

Marking a new foundation to strengthen bilateral ties, India and Myanmar on Wednesday signed 11 agreements ranging from maritime security to cultural exchange.

The MoUs were signed after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. India and Myanmar signed a MoU to strengthen maritime security cooperation.

The two sides also signed an agreement for sharing white shipping information to improve data sharing on non-classified merchant navy ships or cargo ships.

The 11 MoUs also include one between the Election Commission and Union Election of Myanmar, the national level electoral commission of Myanmar. A MoU was also signed to organise cultural exchange programme for the period 2017-2020, according to a statement issued by Ministry of External Affairs.

The two countries also signed agreements on cooperation between Myanmar Press Council and Press Council of India, an extension of agreement on the establishment of India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of IT skill.

They also signed agreements to cooperate in 'Medical Products Regulation' and in the field of health and medicine. They also signed a MoU on enhancing the cooperation on upgradation of the women's police training centre at Yamethin in Myanmar.

Modi arrived here on the second leg of his two-nation trip during which he travelled to southeastern Chinese city Xiamen where he attended the annual BRICS summit and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders.

This is Modi's first bilateral visit to Myanmar. He had visited the country in 2014 to attend the ASEAN-India Summit. 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.