A SENIOR official from the Indian External Affairs Ministry was due to arrive in Yangon on October 3 for talks on bilateral relations, a diplomatic source said last week.

The Indian Foreign Secretary, Mr Shyam Saran, was to hold talks with a Deputy Foreign Minister, U Kyaw Thu, to review the progress of bilateral relations, the source said.

The meeting at the Foreign Ministry on Pyay Road on October 4 would focus on the implementation of agreements signed by the two countries during the past few years, the source said.

The meeting will be third between officials from the foreign ministries of the two countries since Myanmar and India signed a protocol in January last year which established a mechanism for such talks.

The last meeting was held in New Delhi in January.

Mr Saran, whose position is equivalent to that of a deputy foreign minister, was also expected to meet the Prime Minister, General Khin Nyunt, and the Foreign Minister, U Nyan Win, during the two-day visit, the source said.

Relations between Myanmar and India have strengthened since New Delhi adopted a ‘Look East’ policy in the early 1990s aimed at building closer ties with Southeast Asia.

Mr Saran, who served as India’s ambassador to Myanmar from 1997 to 2001, played a key role in establishing closer bilateral ties.