Sushma Swaraj describes Myanmar visit as `very successful`

Describing her four-day Myanmar visit as "very successful", Sushma Swaraj on Monday said she forcefully articulated India`s position in meetings of ASEAN, ARF and East Asia Summit.

Nay Pyi Taw: Describing her four-day Myanmar visit as "very successful", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said she forcefully articulated India`s position in meetings of ASEAN, ARF and East Asia Summit besides having bilateral engagements with her counterparts from 11 countries.

Wrapping up her visit, Swaraj said Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s vision has significantly increased India`s stature among foreign governments in the last two-and-half months as they felt the new government can deliver on its promises and boost trade and investment.

"It was a very hectic visit. I myself feel that the visit was very successful," she said. Swaraj, who attended the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, ASEAN Regional Forum Meeting and East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers` Meeting her first multilateral engagement as External Affairs Minister said the leaders she met were quite excited about the new government in India and some of them were of the view that it will function without any "pressure or blackmail" as it came with a clear majority.

"Everybody was impressed by Modiji`s vision. They feel that investment opportunities have increased in India as the government has an ambitious agenda and they wanted to be part of it," she told reporters before leaving for New Delhi.

Swaraj said in the multilateral meetings, she favoured resolving all the disputes peacefully.

The ASEAN, ARF and EAS meetings were dominated by fresh standoff in the South China Sea where India strongly favoured freedom of navigation and access to resources in the resource-rich area and said the dispute must be resolved as per international law.

Swaraj said she had bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of 11 countries including Japan, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand.

In her meetings today with President of Myanmar U Thein Sein and Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung, Swaraj raised India`s serious concern over certain militant outfits of north eastern region having bases inside its territory and asked the country to take action against them.

"I raised the issue of Indian insurgent groups and told them that though the political leadership is again and again saying that their territory will not be used for terrorist activities, but on the ground, the situation is different," she told reporters.

Swaraj said she told the Myanmarese foreign minister that the insurgent groups are not only security threat to India but they are security threat to his country as well.

The External Affairs Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come to Myanmar to attend the East Asia Summit on November 13 and Myanmarese leaders have extended an invitation to him for a bilateral visit also.

The East Asia Summit is a forum for co-operation between various countries of this region with ASEAN and includes Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the US, in addition to the 10 ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries.

Asked about delay in projects being implemented by India in neighbouring countries, she said, "Old projects will be expedited and new projects will be started with time line," in response to a question on why China delivers while India only promises.