Indian traders to visit Burma

Subhaschandra M
Mizzima News: 8 September, 2006

A trade delegation from India's northeastern state of Manipur will visit various parts of Burma in the first week of October to study the feasibility of expanding the ongoing Indo-Burmese border trade.

A Manipur state government official told Mizzima, “A delegation from the state is expected to visit Burma soon to see other prospects apart from ongoing trade.”

The people of Manipur want to foster a close relationship among Manipuris and the Burmese through trade and other activities, the official added.

Traders in India's northeastern region have expressed their desire to have an international bus service between India and Burma much like that of the Indo-Pakistan bus service.

The decision to send a Manipuri delegation to Burma was taken during the 5th State Level Export Promotion Committee meeting held in May under the chairmanship of Manipur Chief Secretary Jarnail Singh.

The official further stated that the tentative date for the visit would be from October 3 to 17. However, the official refused to disclose the details of the proposed visit to Burma.

Reacting to the state government's plan to send a delegation to Burma, Yumnamcha Dilipkumar, Chairman of the programme implementation committee of the Indo-Myanmar Border Traders' Union said, “It is encouraging to learn that the state is going to send a team to Burma, but we are still demanding lifting of restrictions on the movement of traders and also to repeal restriction on the movements of foreigners.”

The Traders Union had recently submitted a 17 point memorandum to the Manipur Governor Dr Shivinder Singh Sidhu to promote ongoing Indo-Burmese border trade.

The Governor, in response to the pressure had appraised the concerned authority in New Delhi.