Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam (left) is welcomed by students waving Indian and Myanmar flags upon his arrival in Yangon on March 8. Pic – AFP

THE Indian President, Mr A P J Abdul Kalam, arrived in Yangon last Wednesday for a landmark goodwill visit, which was expected to include the signing of an important memorandum of understanding on the sale of natural gas to India.

The four-day visit by Mr Kalam, the first-ever visit by an Indian president to Myanmar, was at the invitation of Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe.

The two leaders were scheduled to meet on Thursday.

Mr Kalam met people of Indian origin in Myanmar soon after his arrival in Yangon.

The gathering at the residence of Indian Ambassador Mr Bashkar Mitra included a speech by Mr Kalam in which he highlighted the importance placed by his country on promoting ties with Myanmar.

“The two countries have strong bonds of friendship as well as centuries-old cultural and religious ties,” Mr Kalam said.

Mr Kalam was accom-panied to Yangon by a 78-member delegation, which included Foreign Secretary Mr Shyam Saran as well as 21 journalists.

Mr Kalam was welcomed at Yangon International Airport by Senior General Than Shwe, with an official welcoming ceremony accompanied by an honour guard.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on the eve of the visit, Mr Saran said Mr Kalam’s trip would be important both symbolically and substantively.

He said the meeting between Senior General Than Shwe and Mr Kalam would cover a host of bilateral as well as regional issues.

“It is a very important visit because this is a very important neighbour for us,” Mr Saran said.

“Myanmar is in a sense our gateway to (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It is also an important country because we have 1400-kilometre-long land boundary with Myanmar. And this land boundary really straddles the four most important and sensitive northeastern states of India: Starting from Arunachal Pradesh, you have Nagaland, you have Manipur and you have Mizoram,” he said.

“We also share the Bay of Bengal – another strategic stretch of sea for both our countries,” Mr Saran said. “There are various reasons for which it is important for India and Myanmar to remain engaged,” he said.

Mr Saran said the discussion between the two leaders would also include the implementation of cooperation in the fields of energy, space technology and telecommunications.

Speaking of the energy sector, Mr Saran said the two sides would sign a memorandum of understanding on India’s purchase of natural gas from Myanmar.

“We are already involved in a couple of exploration ventures essentially on the (Rakhine) coast, which is just opposite our own eastern seaboard,” Mr Saran said, referring to involvement by two state-owned Indian oil companies – Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India, and Gas Authority of India Limited – in the exploration of the A1 and A3 gas fields off the coast of Rakhine State.

“What we are looking at is an agreement between the two sides for the evacuation of natural gas that would be produced in these exploration blocks,” Mr Saran said. “How to evacuate the gas is one of the issues that we need to look at.”

“There are several alternatives that we are looking at. We can have a pipeline through Mizoram State. We can have a pipeline through Bangladesh if that is possible. We are also looking at the possibility of (liquefied natural gas) options,” Mr Saran said.

The visit by Mr Kalam will also include an agreement on the establishment of a centre in Myanmar that would allow the sharing of data collected by an Indian satellite for agricultural purposes.

On the political front, Mr Saran said India welcomed the commitment of the Myanmar government to work towards a transition to democracy.

“We have stated quite publicly that we have welcomed the commitment that has been made by the leadership of Myanmar to restore multiparty democracy,” Mr Saran said. “This is something that we support and we hope that this can be achieved sooner rather than later.”

Mr Kalam, one of India’s most renowned scientists, was also scheduled to visit Yangon University on Friday to deliver a lecture on the importance of knowledge to professors and students.

Afterwards he was scheduled to travel to Mandalay to visit religious and cultural sites.

Mr Kalam was also expected to address members of the Myanmar business community before flying from Yangon on Saturday morning to the Indian Ocean state of Mauritius for an official visit.