Meeting seeks to boost Myanmar-India trade

18 February 2015
Meeting seeks to boost Myanmar-India trade
Trucks loaded with goods stop on the Indian-Myanmar border road in the border town of Tamu, Myanmar on November 29, 2014. Photo: Hong Sar/Mizzima

Myanmar and India’s commerce ministers reiterated their mutual desire to improve trade between their two countries at a meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, according to the Business Standard on February 17.
The 5th India- Myanmar Joint Trade Committee meeting was held on February 17 and co-chaired by Myanmar Minister of Commerce U Win Myint and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. The meeting was preceded by a gathering of senior officials of India and Myanmar the day before.
The two Ministers reiterated their commitment towards strengthening mutually beneficial relationship especially in the field of promoting two-way investment, infrastructure development particularly to promote border trade, connectivity, agriculture, energy, skill and entrepreneurial development, pharmaceutical and people-to-people contacts.
Both sides agreed to work together to remove the bottlenecks hampering the bilateral trade and investment such as lack of good connectivity, lack of banking arrangement both for regular and border trade. In this context, Ms Sitharaman offered Indian support to Myanmar to develop infrastructure at the border trade points, upgrade trade training institutes in Yangon, and also provide training to Myanmar officials on WTO and international trade related issues besides supporting subsidized direct shipping links between India and Myanmar to promote bilateral trade.
U Win Myint and Ms Sitharaman agreed to hold the next Joint Trade and Investment Forum in Chennai, India during which Myanmar would organize a roadshow showcasing investment opportunities in Myanmar especially in the special economic zones being built. The two Ministers also agreed to jointly inaugurate the land custom station in Zawkhatar, Mizoram, India.