Apr 04, 2025 04:02 PM IST
Myanmar’s military government leader met India’s PM Narendra Modi for the first time in four years.
(Bloomberg) — Myanmar’s military government leader met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time in four years, as the isolated regime grapples with last week’s devastating earthquake.
The leaders met Friday on the sidelines of a regional economic summit in Bangkok that the junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended in a rare trip to a neighboring Southeast Asian country since seizing power in 2021. The interaction gives the regime a much-needed air of legitimacy at a time Western nations are largely shunning it.
“India is ready to deploy more material assistance” to facilitate quake relief efforts, India’s top diplomat Vikram Misri told reporters in Bangkok after the bilateral meeting.
Just days earlier, Myanmar was hit by a 7.7 magnitude quake that left thousands dead or injured. The military government on Wednesday announced a ceasefire in fighting against armed opposition groups to aid recovery efforts. However, according to local media reports, the junta conducted air strikes on Thursday as well.
India has airlifted a mobile army hospital to the city of Mandalay — the epipm modi sunder nurserycenter of the earthquake — along with a team of medics and tons of relief supplies. China and Russia are also providing major assistance.
“Prime Minister Modi also underlined the importance of early restoration of democratic process in Myanmar including through credible and inclusive elections,” Misri said on Friday.
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