India has offered to help in Myanmar’s national reconciliation effort, officials said here on Tuesday, shortly after State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi began her first state visit to India, with a meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“President Mukherjee referred to India’s rich experience in building a federal nation state, taking into account the ethnic and linguistic diversity of its people and offered any assistance desired by the Government of Myanmar in this regard,” a source said.
During the meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, the issue of reconciliation came up again. “The two leaders discussed the manner in which India could support Myanmar’s agenda of national reconciliation, socio-economic development and strengthening democracy,” said an official.
The Myanmarese leader received a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ms. Swaraj conveyed condolences on India’s behalf for the terror attack of October 9 which led to a week of violence that claimed dozens of lives in Rakhine province of Myanmar.
On October 16, Ms. Suu Kyi had expressed solidarity in the Goa BRICS-BIMSTEC for India’s fight against terrorism.
In Goa, the visiting leader, who is also the winner of the Nobel peace prize had described “rising terrorism” as an issue of “common concern” between India and Myanmar. India’s proposal for “assistance” came a day after the Ministry of External Affairs announced that New Delhi is willing to play a more active role in stabilising and unifying the Bay of Bengal community, including Myanmar.
