Myanmar president to visit India

Myanmar President U Thein Sein will pay a goodwill visit to India in the near future to promote bilateral relations and cooperation with the northwestern neighbor, said an official announcement issued from Nay Pyi Taw Monday without giving the date of his visit. At the invitation of Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Thein Sein and his wife will pay the visit, the announcement said. Thein Sein's forthcoming visit will be the first to India after assuming presidency on March 30. In 2006, Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam visited Myanmar and two years later that, in 2009, Indian Vice-President Shri M.Hamid Ansari paid official visit to the country. Meanwhile, Myanmar's former leader Senior-General Than Shwe, Chairman of State Peace and Development Council and Vice Chairman Maung Aye also visited India in 2010 and 2008 respectively. According to official statistics, Myanmar-India bilateral trade reached 1.071 billion U.S. dollars in 2010-11, standing as Myanmar 's fourth largest trading partner after Thailand, Singapore and China. Of the total, Myanmar's export to India amounted to 876.91 million U.S. dollars, while its import from India was valued at 194.92 million U.S. dollars. Agricultural products and forestry products are leading in Myanmar's export to India whereas medicines and pharmaceutical products are topping its imports from India. India stands as a major buyer of Myanmar's beans, taking up 70 percent of the latter's exporting agricultural produce. Meanwhile, India's contracted investment in Myanmar amounted to 189 million U.S. dollars as of June 2011 since the government opened to foreign investment in 1988, of which 137 million were drawn into the oil and gas sector in 2007. India stands the 13th in Myanmar's foreign investors' line-up.