India on cusp of transformative change, invest: Prez to diaspora

Yangon, December 12 

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday addressed the Indian community in Myanmar and invited them to invest in India, saying the country is full of opportunities for business, social enterprise and cultural links.

Kovind, who is in Myanmar to continue India’s high level bilateral engagements under the rubric of the ‘Act East’ and the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policies, said that India is on the cusp of a transformative change.

“I bring you good wishes of 1.3 billion citizens of friends and families in India,” he said while speaking at the Indian community reception here.

Myanmar has embarked on an exciting but challenging journey, he said.

“I am here to reassure Myanmar that India is always ready to help it fulfil its aspirations for a brighter future.

“India and Myanmar must pair hard infrastructure being created with soft infrastructure of legal arrangements, like a motor vehicle agreement, for people to travel legally and easily. This will help realise the full potential of our projects,” Kovind said.

He said today, India is full of opportunities for business, social enterprise and cultural links. “I invite each one of you to join us in this journey, and to make this partnership more meaningful,” the President said.

“Our Northeast and Myanmar's North West share strong commonalities of culture, language and traditions. These regions are central to our bilateral vision for growth, prosperity and security.

“This is my first visit to Myanmar. It is both a pilgrimage and a homecoming. This country has a proud, millennia-old tradition of Buddhist thought and philosophy. It is home to one of the leading schools of Buddhism,” Kovind said. Myanmar, like India, is an enormously diverse country, with different ethnicities and faiths co-existing. The two countries shared civilisational ethos shows that all faiths share fundamental truths, which guide all, he said. —PTI

Pays tribute to martyrs at mausoleum in Myanmar

• President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday paid tribute to General Aung San, father of State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi, at the Myanmar martyrs’ mausoleum  
• The mausoleum in Yangon is dedicated to Aung San and other leaders of the pre-independence government, all of whom were assassinated in July, 1947
•  Kovind is in Myanmar on a two-city visit to continue high-level bilateral engagements under the ‘Act East Policy’ and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’