September 6,
2017
State Counsellor
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday for
his support against the acts of terrorism that Myanmar faced and assured him
that terrorism would not gain a foothold.
“Together, both
countries will ensure that terror is not allowed to take root”, State
Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said.
“We would like
to thank India for the strong stand that it has been taken with regard to the
terrorist threat that came to our country,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi responded that “India completely understands the challenges.”
Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi said the knowledge and support from India will be invaluable to Myanmar.
“There are many
areas in which we can cooperate. I would like to talk about the role India has
played in capacity building, because that is what our country is more in need
of - to build up the capacity of our people that we may be able to construct
truly safe and lasting federal democratic unions.”
“India has
always been eager to join us in our efforts, to strengthen our democratic
institutions of our country and for this also, we appreciate the relationship
between the two countries. The friendship between our countries has always been
good. We need to further strengthen what we already have, what we built up at
the time of our Independence 70 years ago,” Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said.
The State
Counsellor said the rich, intertwining history of the two countries will ensure
lasting cooperation.
“The respective
fathers of our independence movement were close to each other, and I think this
closeness has been maintained throughout the seven decades, and we truly
believe that this will continue to be maintained in the years to come”, the
State Counsellor said.
Prime Minister
Modi praised the State Counsellor’s leadership in Myanmar’s long quest for
peace.
“Your courageous
leadership to the Myanmar peace process needs to be lauded,” he said.
Prime Minister
Modi added that India shares Myanmar’s concerns on extremist violence in
Rakhine State.
In a joint
statement following the signing of agreements and Memoranda of Understanding
(MoUs) between India and Myanmar, Prime Minister Modi asserted that India
stands by Myanmar amid challanges including terrorist attacks in Rakhine State
the country is facing.
‘’Whether it is
a peace process or any other special issue, we hope that all stakeholders
together can find a way out in which the unity and the territorial integrity of
Myanmar is respected. At the same time, we can have peace, justice, dignity and
democratic values for all,” he added.
The Prime
Minister ended his remarks by stressing the importance of strong cooperation.
“India and
Myanmar are neighbours, and hence, in the areas of security, our interests are
the same and it is necessary that we work together to safeguard our long land
border and maritime boundary for the security and the stability of the region.”
Mr. Modi also
said that India has decided to grant nocost visas to Myanmar people who wish to
visit the country and to release 40 Myanmar citizens detained in India.
Mr Modi also
highlighted the development initiatives India was undertaking in Myanmar,
especially in capacity building of the executive, legislature, election
commission, press council and other institutions in Myanmar.
Following the
press conference, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi hosted a luncheon in honour of the
visiting Prime Minister at her residence.
The luncheon was
also attended by Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe, National Security Adviser U
Thaung Tun and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin.
GNLM
Ref; The Global
New Light of Myanmar
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