Myanmar first on India’s horizon for ‘Act East’ policy: Prez

New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI) President Pranab Mukherjee hassaid Myanmar comes first on India’s horizon when it comes toits ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policy even as hesaid the two neighbours are committed to according specialattention to the economic progress of the border areas. He made these remarks while hosting a banquet for visitingMyanmarese President U Htin Kyaw and his wife at RashtrapatiBhavan yesterday. Mukherjee said his country would like to see Myanmar as"India’s gateway to ASEAN and India as Myanmar’s bridge toSouth Asia". The President thanked the Myanmarese leader for choosingIndia for his first bilateral overseas visit as the Head ofState of Myanmar. He said this step was fitting, considering the bonds offriendship, culture, spirituality and history that uniteIndia-Myanmar as he congratulated his counterpart on thehistoric victory of the National League for Democracy in thegeneral election held in November last year. "India sees Myanmar as a key partner in its ‘NeighbourhoodFirst’ and ‘Act East’ policy. As the government of India lookseastward to rejuvenate historical, cultural and commerciallinks between India and Southeast Asia, Myanmar is the firston our horizon. "India attaches high value to Myanmar’s contribution andfurther role in achieving our shared vision of stability,peace and progress in the region," he said. Mukherjee said India welcomes the bold step taken byState Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in initiating aninclusive process for peace through the 21st Century PanglongConference. "With regard to our common security concerns and ourjoint efforts in the area of border management, we haveagreed to accord special attention to the economic progress ofour border areas, that will transform them into zones ofpeace and prosperity," he said. (More) PTI NESSC