ASEAN summit: PM Modi meets Myanmar’s Suu Kyi, discusses bilateral ties

It is not immediately known whether the issue of Rohingya Muslims figured in the meeting between the two leaders.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with State Counsellor of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday. (Source: Twitter/@IndiainMyanmar)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a “constructive” meeting with Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during which they explored ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in areas of connectivity and capacity building.

Modi and Suu Kyi held the meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, in a tweet, called the meeting constructive.

“When Act East & Neighborhood First converge. PM @narendramodi had a constructive meeting with Myanmar’s State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to enhance cooperation in capacity building, connectivity and people-to-people ties, among other areas,” Kumar tweeted.

It is not immediately known whether the issue of Rohingya Muslims figured in the meeting.

An estimated 7,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State since 2017 after large-scale violence following a military crackdown. The exodus of refugees in large numbers has resulted in a major crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

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Modi arrived here on a three-day visit on Saturday to attend ASEAN-India, the East Asia and the RCEP summits.

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