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| India, Myanmar talks from Wednesday | | |
NEW DELHI: Hoping to strengthen cooperation in cracking down on arms and drug trafficking, India will again raise concerns over reports of rebel groups from the northeast operating from Myanmar when home secretaries of the two countries meet on Wednesday.
While security issues such as border management are likely to figure in the 12th round of home secretary level talks, New Delhi will seek a categorical assurance that Myanmar will not allow its territory to be used for activities detrimental to its interests.
While Home Secretary VK Duggal will lead the Indian side, Myanmar Deputy Minister Brig Gen Phone Swe will lead the Myanmar team in the four-day talks that will also explore ways of making the border peaceful.
The two countries share a 1,643 km long land border and a coastline of 1,930 km wide open on the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal posing a strategic challenge to India's eastern frontier.
As peace talks with the insurgent groups of the northeast make headway in fits and starts, the security situation in the region continues to be cause for concern, especially with some rebel groups taking refuge and having camps in Myanmar.
Senior home ministry officials say while cooperation from the military junta of Myanmar has been forthcoming in recent years, much more needs to be done.
"Relations with Myanmar have to be maintained for effective neutralisation of these insurgent groups," said a senior ministry official.
In the last such meeting held at Yangon in October last year, both sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation for tackling the activities of insurgents and drug traffickers with Myanmar assuring that arms smugglers would be severely punished if caught on its soil.
Both countries will also review the status of various infrastructural projects in Myanmar, particularly in the road and power sectors, over which the two countries had agreed to cooperate.
Also on the agenda are issues relating to security, border trade, border management and proposed infrastructure projects in Myanmar. |
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