New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention during talks with Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

While addressing a special press briefing on President Hlaing’s visit to India on Monday, Misri stated that PM Modi spoke about the need for enduring peace in Myanmar and the need for inclusion and bringing all the stakeholders to the table.

“Let me say that the Prime Minister did raise this matter with the President and this was a discussion that was largely in the context of the peace process that is, or has been, underway in Myanmar for quite some time. The effort to bring in all the ethnic groups onto the same platform and find a way forward within a united Myanmar,” said Foreign Secretary Misri.

“This is something that you are aware has been going on for a long period of time. There isn’t yet final agreement between all stakeholders. And, in the context of the mindset the Prime Minister was making on the need for, as Myanmar finds its way back towards democracy, the need for an enduring peace in the country, the need for inclusion, the need to have all stakeholders at the table and to examine the points of views of all the interlocutors who have been part of this process over a long period of time. So, that essentially, it was a bit of free-wheeling discussion on that issue and that is where issues related to democracy, etc., were also raised,” he added.

Misri noted that disengagement does not yield any result and only produces a vaccum that others go on to fill. He stated that India has always expressed its views about issues related to democracy, peace process and inclusion.

“I should underline that our engagement with Myanmar is not intended to be a commentary on the internal political arrangements in that country. We have always proceeded on the principle that sustained dialogue is what is important and what is an imperative for India as a neighbour and the answer is clearly not disengagement. History has shown that disengagement doesn’t give us any results that are better than engagement and it certainly doesn’t produce democratic change and that is what we are interested in. On the other hand, disengagement only produces a vacuum that others go on to fill then to our detriment and those others have no interest in democracy, I can assure you about that,” Misri said.

“So, we have consistently engaged and while engaging, we have always put forward our thoughts on all of these issues related to democracy, related to the peace process, related to inclusion, and to the absolute importance of having all stakeholders as part of the dialogue at the table,” he added.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi and President Hlaing held a meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi and agreed to advance bilateral ties and collaborate further in areas of trade, investment, connectivity, development partnership, capacity building, security and border management.

“PM Narendra Modi held wide-ranging discussions with President U Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar on further deepening India-Myanmar bilateral ties. Anchored in the enduring historic and people-to-people relationship, both sides agreed to advance India-Myanmar partnership for peace, progress and prosperity and to further collaborate in areas of trade, investment, connectivity, development partnership, capacity building, security and border management,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

“PM conveyed that India remains Myanmar’s trusted neighbour, a reliable partner and steadfast first responder in times of crisis, in line with India’s Neighbourhood First, Act East and MAHASAGAR policies. PM reaffirmed India’s readiness to support peace and dialogue in Myanmar, including by sharing federal governance and economic growth experiences,” he added.

–IANS

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