Foreign Secretary Shringla, Army Chief meet Myanmar’s Suu Kyi to discuss bilateral issues

Indian Army chief General MM Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla discussed important bilateral issues with Myanmar’s state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on October 5 in NayPyiTaw. Shringla and General Naravane handed over 3000 vials of Remdesivir, an antiviral medication, to Suu Kyi as a part of India’s contribution to help Myanmar fight against COVID-19.

Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that India-Myanmar relations are historic, multifaceted and marked by mutual trust and respect. It stressed that India attaches high priority to its relationship with Myanmar in accordance with its “Neighborhood First” and “Act East” policies. There have been few direct exchanges between the two sides due to the pandemic situation.

“In the recent times, both sides have strengthened their cooperation in several areas, including connectivity and trade, development projects, energy, capacity building, defence and security and culture and people to people links,” MEA said.

The ministry further added that the visit will provide an opportunity to take stock of the existing bilateral ties and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The two-day visit by Naravane and Shringla comes weeks before Myanmar elections, five years after the last general elections which was marred with allegations of voter fraud and misuse of social media platforms. 

Read: Army Chief Naravane And Foreign Secretary Shringla To Travel To Myanmar On Sunday

Read: India, Myanmar Hold Foreign Office Consultations To Discuss Range Of Issues

Elections and human rights abuse

Facebook Inc has said that it is preparing for Myanmar’s 2020 election by improving its ability to remove hate speech and content that incites violence from its platform. Facebook announced that it is working to reduce the spread of harmful misinformation and removal of inauthentic networks in Myanmar that seek to manipulate public opinion.

Suu Kyi has also been facing criticism over the handling of Rohingya crisis as serious human rights violations, acknowledged by a government-appointed panel, forced lakhs of Rohingya Muslims to take refuge in camps in Bangladesh. The Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE), in a 461-page final report, acknowledged that war crimes, serious human rights violations, and violations of domestic law took place during the security operations between August 25 - September 5, 2017.

Read: Rohingya Crisis Created By Myanmar; Must Be Solved By Them: Bangladesh PM Seeks UN Focus

Read: US Lawmakers Seek Transparent, Fair Election In Myanmar: Introduce Resolution

(Image: Twitter / IndiainMyanmar)