India-Myanmar ties

12082014

 Buddha, Business and Bollywood

August 10, 2014,By Manish Chand,

Raising the bar for India-Myanmar ties(External Affairs Minister at 4th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar)

The “neighbours first” policy of the new government in India is again in focus with India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on her maiden visit to Myanmar August 8-11 for bilateral talks, as well as to attend ministerial meetings connected with ASEAN, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum. Myanmar will be the first Southeast Asian country Sushma Swaraj will be visiting after trips to three important neighbours in South Asia: Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal. The minister’s visit will take place soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s path-breaking trip to Nepal, and underlines the centrality of immediate and extended neighbourhood in India’s foreign policy matrix.

Why Myanmar matters: 5 Bs

A bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia, Myanmar has loomed large on India’s diplomatic horizon. Blending business, culture and diplomacy, there is a strong connect between the two countries. Buddhism, Business, Bollywood, Bharatnatyam and Burma teak — these are the five Bs that frame India-Myanmar relations in popular imagination. Moving beyond this rich configuration, the relations are now acquiring greater economic weight and strategic orientation.

The minister’s visit to Myanmar comes days after the foreign office consultations between the two countries in New Delhi that saw the two sides discussing an entire gamut of bilateral issues, including trade and investment, energy and development cooperation. The talks in Nay Pi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar, will set the stage for Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Southeast Asian country in November for the India-ASEAN summit and East Asia Summit.

The importance of Myanmar for India is all-too-obvious: India and Myanmar share a long land border of over 1600 km and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Nurturing all-round relations with Myanmar is crucial to the economic transformation of India’s north-eastern states. Myanmar is also critical to India’s national security. The two countries have sealed a pact to share real time intelligence to combat Indian insurgents operating out of the border region. The pact envisages the conduct of coordinated patrols on each side of the border and maritime boundary and entails exchange of information to jointly combat insurgency, arms smuggling and drug, human and wildlife trafficking.

The bilateral relations, underpinned by the 1951 Treaty of Friendship, have stood the test of time and shown a rare dynamism and resilience. The visit of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 laid the foundations for a robust relationship between India and Myanmar. The dawn of the third millennium has seen bilateral ties acquire a new force.

Two-way visits

The relations have experienced a visible upswing in the last four years since Myanmar’s embrace of political and economic reforms a few years ago. This was reflected in a spate of high-profile two-way visits: President U. Thein Sein came to India on October 12-15, 2011, the first state visit from Myanmar to India following the swearing-in of a new government in Myanmar in March 2011. This was followed by another transformational visit by India’s then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar from May 27-29, 2012, an important milestone that saw the two sides signing a dozen agreements and India extending a new line of credit (LOC) for US$500 million to Myanmar. President Thein Sein attended the India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in December 2012 in Delhi and also visited Mumbai and Ratnagiri. Manmohan Singh visited Myanmar again for the BIMSTEC summit in March 2014.

Scaling up economic ties

Imparting a renewed momentum to economic relations will be a key focus area in the days to come. The energy-rich and resource-rich Myanmar has emerged as a land of opportunity, and with political and economic reforms it embarked on three years ago, the two countries look poised to galvanise its economic ties. Bilateral trade has gone up from barely 12 million dollars in the early 80s to nearly $2 billion.

A host of Indian companies have already pitched their tent in Myanmar and are thriving. These include, among others, the state-owned ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), Jubilant Oil and Gas, Century Ply, Tata Motors, Essar Energy, RITES, Escorts, Ranbaxy, Cadila Healthcare Ltd, Dr. Reddy’s Lab., CIPLA, and Apollo. Top Indian companies are looking to invest $2.6 billion in a host of industries, including telecommunications, energy and aviation.

Energising Ties

Energy cooperation is an important pillar of bilateral relations, with India’s state-owned and private companies acquiring gas blocs in that country. Seven Indian companies are among 59 companies shortlisted by the Myanmar government for submission of final bids for 18 onshore gas blocks on offer. OVL and GAIL have already announced $1.33 billion investment in China-Myanmar gas pipeline project.

Food Security

Home to sprawling stretches of virgin forests and fertile land, Myanmar is emerging as a food granary of the region. Not surprisingly, India’s imports from Myanmar are dominated by beans, pulses and forest-based products. With its prowess in agricultural technologies, India has been all too willing to share its expertise to transform agricultural sector in Myanmar. In 2012, during then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Yangon, India pledged support for setting up an Advanced Centre for Agriculture Research and Education in Yezin and a Rice Bio-park in the integrated Demonstration Park in Nay Pyi Taw.

Development Cooperation

Capacity building and development cooperation are twin prongs of the growing India-Myanmar partnership. India has provided $500 million line of credit to Myanmar for a host of infrastructure and capacity building projects, the largest LOC to any Southeast Asian country. India has been in the forefront of empowering the people of Myanmar through training programmes like the ITEC and setting up centres of excellence in Myanmar like the Myanmar Institute of Information Technology (MIIT), which is being set up at Mandalay. (Industrial Training Centres, Myanmar-India Centre for English Language (MICELT), Myanmar-India Entrepreneurship Development Centre (MIEDC), India-Myanmar Centre for Enhancement of IT Skills (IMCEITS), Language Laboratories and E-Resource Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw are some other outstanding projects that have been set up with India’s assistance).

Given Myanmar’s geostrategic location, India is focusing on accelerating connectivity projects like the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and building/upgrading 71 bridges on the Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road. The trilateral highway that will provide seamless connectivity between India, Myanmar and Thailand by 2016 is poised to be a game-changer.

Democracy Connect

Myanmar’s ongoing journey towards democratic transformation promises to bring India and Myanmar closer as the Southeast Asian country taps India’s expertise in institution-building. In the past few years, scores of parliamentarians from Myanmar have been coming to India for training in parliamentary practices and procedures.

People Power

(Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar)While diplomacy and business have their own logic, it’s people-to-people relations that impart a special character to the enduring friendship between India and Myanmar. Myanmar is home to 2.5 million-strong Indian diaspora, settled mostly in Yangon and Mandalay. Iconic Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has a special connection with India. She studied in Delhi’s Lady Shriram College when her mother was posted as ambassador in India. Boddh Gaya, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is a must-visit place for Myanmar’s leaders and pilgrims. The Sarnath-style Buddha statue donated by the Indian government to people of Myanmar and installed at the Shwedagon Pagoda premises remains a shining symbol of cultural and civilizational connect between the two countries. Straddling the classical and the modern, Bollywood and Bharatnatyam are equally popular in Myanmar. And yoga is acquiring new devotees among the young and the old in the neighbouring country.

Seize the Day

Myanmar’s opening-up in recent years has made the country an arena of competition among established and new players. The democratisation, along with economic reforms, has unleashed new opportunities for India, which is determined to make up for lost time. With a creative blend of diplomacy, diplomacy and culture, the India-Myanmar relations can only scale new heights in days to come.

(Manish Chand is Editor-in-Chief of India Writes Network,www.indiawrites.org, a portal and e-journal focused on international affairs and the India Story)

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Categories : Business, CSR, culture, Education

PM to Jawans:Neighbour has lost strength to fight

12082014

PM to Jawans:Neighbour has lost strength to fight conv war-continues to engage in proxy war http://www.niticentral.com/2014/08/12/narendra-modi-siachen-235772.html … … pic.twitter.com/ZGmGnEQcGA

On PM’s maiden visit, Ladakh demands opening of new Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route.http://iexp.in/VYg104314  pic.twitter.com/pIFliPxmUk

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Categories : Politics

Robin Williams no more

12082014

President Obama said that Williams “was one of a kind… He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets.”

The actor was also an avid gamer and named his daughter Zelda after the popular video game character. In his last post to Instagram, he paid tribute to his young daughter on her birthday. Zelda Williams is also an actress.

Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois and studied acting at the Juilliard School in New York City.

Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Robin Williams aged  63 was found dead on Monday, as reported by police  apparent cause of death was suicide, authorities said. Saluting the stunning character actor  and Oscar-winning actor, on relatively recent episodes of the American version of the improved comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway and being the loudest, farcical, most gleefully nutty his character in Good Morning, Vietnam, Williams was best. Medi agencies

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Categories : Entertainment

Upcoming EBTC events in renewable energy and bio-pharmaceutical sectors

12082014

European Business and Technology Centre

To Me

Aug 11 at 11:18 PM

About EBTC The European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) supports EU clean-technology companies and researchers on their market entry to India with a focus on Biotechnology, Energy, Environment, Transport. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

SAVE THE DATE

Register now for upcoming events in the renewable energy and bio-pharmaceutical sectors EU-India Renewable Energy Mission 2014 3rd – 5th September 2014, Delhi Click here to learn about the Mission and the benefits of participating Click here to express an interest in the Mission In the framework of the ‘8th Renewable Energy India Expo’ – Asia’s largest renewable energy event Use EBTC’s stall at the European Pavilion to demonstrate your technology, present your company and organise B2B meetings. Participate in the conference and information sessions; engage in high-level networking and much more! Display your technology using the virtual ETEC (European Technology and Experience Centre) at the ‘European Pavilion’ (and online here). This Mission is being organised by EBTC, ACCIÓ, CEIPIEMONTE and the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Webinar on ‘Clean & Green Healthcare – Shifting trends in the Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry & Opportunities in India’ (Free) 24th September 2014, Online Click here to register for the webinar Featuring Polyclone Bio, this webinar will: Explore opportunities in India in the bio-pharmaceutical sector – including bio-similars and vaccines. Present a broad overview of key success factors including deal structuring and understanding India from a cultural perspective. Enable participants to engage in a Q&A with experts to learn more about opportunities and upcoming events. Virtual Meeting: Bio-Pharmaceutical Synergies between India and the EU 29th – 31st October 2014, Online Click here to learn more about how you can benefit from participating Click here to start the registration process (Please note: this is a double registration – create a personal account on EB Meeting® and then fill in the inscription form to register for the Virtual Meeting. You will then be contacted to process payment and complete the registration). Meet companies online before physically interacting at our Biotechnology Mission in 2015: A unique online portal to connect with European and Indian organisations in the bio-pharmaceutical sector. Save time and money by participating in the virtual meeting to explore EU-India collaborative opportunities before deciding to take the next steps in a physical meeting. This is being organised by EBTC, the Council of EU Chambers of Commerce in India (CEUCCI) and EB Meeting®. We request you to circulate and promote this mission among your networks; members; sector connections; mailing lists and other organisations that could be interested in participating. Kind regards, The EBTC team

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Categories : Business

12082014

Enkay Sagar Holdings Pvt Ltd’s last chance to speak at Middle East Rail 2015.

Jamie, Middle East rail 2015

To Me

Today at 10:49 AM

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Dear N.K, This is your last chance to secure a speaking slot at Middle East Rail 2015, the Middle East’s largest rail show. Download the sponsorship brochure for more information Packed with innovative content, across 2 days, Middle East Rail unites the region’s top government authorities and rail operators with world class solution providers. With over 4,000 attendees and hundreds of regional rail operators and government officials, this is the ultimate platform to speak to your target market all in one place. Download the sponsorship brochure to find out more Every year we have an extensive representation from the largest Operators including: Etihad Rail Ministry of Public Works RTA NTA SRO & SAR Qatar Rail Oman Railways And many more… There are a limited number of speaking opportunities for world class solution and technology providers of: Track infrastructure Rolling stock Signalling & communications Operations & security Maintenance Systems integration Engineering/construction Payments/ticketing Revenue management Get your brand and your ideas in front of the Middle East rail industry’s decision makers by securing a speaking slot in the senior level conference, or free seminars on the exhibition floor. Download the sponsorship brochure for more information.  Enquire now about your tailor-made package.  Contact Jamie Hosie at Jamie.hosie@terrapinn.com or +97144402501. Jamie Hosie Project Director Middle East Rail 2015