Myanmar to strengthen economic ties with India

Foreign Minister U Win Aung has decided to strengthen economic cooperation with India in various sectors including hydro-electric energy, oil and gas exploration and road development, officials said Tuesday.

India's foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters that the agreement followed discussions with Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha late Monday.

He said an Indian team would go to Myanmar to look at opportunities for oil and gas exploration.

Aung also said his country wanted to work with India's information technology sector, Sarna said.

The foreign minister of Myanmar's ruling junta is due to visit the southern city of Bangalore, India's information technology hub, during his six-day stay in India.

Later India's Commerce Minister Arun Shourie, after a meeting with Aung Tuesday evening, told reporters the two countries had decided to set up a joint panel to boost trade.

He said Myanmar was interested in India's pharmaceutical and gems and jewellery sectors.

The two ministers also discussed the possibility of developing a road and river route between the two countries in order to ease the transport of goods between them.

Aung is due to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee later Tuesday.

Bilateral trade between India and Myanmar has jumped from 84.7 million dollars to 435 million dollars in the past decade.