India-Myanmar Relations - 2 | UPSC Mains: International Relations PDF Download

• Trade Fair & Market Promotion

  
  Recent trade promotion events include the India Product Show 2012(March 2012), representing 19 companies, NEFIT's car rally from (March 2012) with over 60 participants (including over 35 business community representatives) from Guwahati to Yangon and back, the much successful Enterprise India show 2011 organised by CII in November 2011 in which over 60 Indian companies participated, India Pharmaceutical Expo 2011 held in Yangon with the help of PHARMEXCIL and the Myanmar Medical Association, the North East India Conclave held in Yangon and Mandalay in September 2010 by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata and the UMFCCI, visits by the IndoMyanmar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IMCCI), Mumbai to Myanmar in January 2010 etc.

• Training Programme  

  
  Myanmar is a beneficiary of training programmes under ITEC, TCS of Colombo Plan, GCSS and MGCSS schemes. The slots for Myanmar trainees in 2011-12 were as follows: ITEC 185; TCS –75; GCSS of ICCR – 10 and M GCSS - 10. Utilization has been excellent. In 2011-12 also, the interest levels are high. We have also offered training to two sets of local journalists who were given an intensive training at IIMC, New Delhi by XP Division. 

• Culture Exchange  

  
  Performances by Indian cultural troupes in Myanmar have been organised on a regular basis since 1997. Various cultural troupes have exchanged visits and performed in both countries. In November 2009, a 13-member student group from Myanmar attended SAARC Cultural Festival in India. In December 2009, a popular Myanmar music band ‘Emperor’ went to India to participate in the “South Asian Bands Festival” organized by ICCR. They also performed in Shillong, Meghalaya. In January 2010, the Embassy organized the annual “Indian Film Festival” at Yangon. This event has become a highlight of the Yangon cultural calendar. In March 2010, a famous landscape artist from Myanmar went to Puducherry, India to participate in “South Asian Artists Camp” organized by ICCR and SEHER. The paintings emerging from that camp were exhibited in the Embassy Auditorium in November 2010 and received an outstanding response from the local community. A 15-member theatre group from Myanmar went to India participate in “South Asian Theatre Festival” organized by ICCR and NSD in March 2010. The “Abiogenesis” band performed Yangon and Mandalay in the last week of May 2010. A Qawalli group (Sabri Brothers) performed in Yangon and other cities in Myanmar in January 2011. There was a packed calendar of commemorative activities for the Rabindranath Tagore 150th birth anniversary celebrations, including a dance drama, seminar, artists’ camp, film festival etc. All the events were very well received by the Myanmar public and media. Classes in Bharatnatyam and Yoga have been started in the Embassy since December 2010, with the support of the ICCR.

• Indian Diaspora  

  
  The origin of the Indian community in Myanmar is traced back to the mid-19th century with the advent of the British rule in Lower Burma in 1852. The two cities of Myanmar namely, Yangon (former Rangoon) and Mandalay had a dominating presence of Indians in various fields such as civil services, education, trade & commerce during the British rule. According to 1983 official census of Myanmar the number of PIOs in Myanmar is 428,428 and the estimated number of stateless PIOs is to be 250,000. A large number of the Indian community (nearly 150,000) live in Bago (Zeyawaddy & Kyautaga) and Tanintharyi Regions and Mon State and are primarily engaged in farming. The NRI families in Myanmar mainly live in Yangon and are engaged in exportimport business or are employees of MNCs based in India, Singapore and Thailand.  
• Air links with India / Convenient Travel Routes
  (i) Thai Airways flies daily to various cities in India via Bangkok;
  (ii) Indian Airlines flies Kolkata-Yangon (to-and-fro ) twice a week on Mondays and Fridays;  

Cooperation between India and Myanmar in the regional/Sub-regional Context  

• ASEAN: Myanmar became a member of ASEAN in July 1997. As the only ASEAN country which shares a land border with India, Myanmar is a bridge between India and ASEAN. A few proposals for cooperation have been implemented and some are under discussions with Myanmar within the framework of ASEAN’s IAI programme.
• BIMSTEC: Myanmar became a member of BIMSTEC in December 1997. Myanmar is a signatory to the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement. Myanmar is the lead country for the energy sector. Myanmar trades mostly with Thailand and India in the BIMSTEC region. Myanmar’s major exports to India are agricultural products like beans, pulses and maize and forest products such as teak and hardwoods. Its imports from India include chemical products, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances and transport equipment. The 13th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Myanmar in January 2011.  
• Mekong Ganga Cooperation: Myanmar is a member of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) since its inception in November 2000. MGC is an initiative by six countries – India and five ASEAN countries namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam – for cooperation in the field s of tourism, education, culture, transport and communication. The chairmanship of MGC is assumed by member countries in alphabetical order.
• SAARC: Myanmar was given the status of observer in SAARC in August 2008.