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By Geeta Mohan: The strategic Sittwe Port in Myanmar was jointly inaugurated by Indian Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal and Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Transport & Communications of Myanmar, Admiral Tin Aung San on Wednesday. At the event, they received the first Indian cargo ship which was flagged off from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata.
The port, built with Indian assistance, will play a key role in connectivity and would lead to 50 per cent reduction in cost and time of transportation of goods between Kolkata, Agartala and Aizwal.
“This will promote trade connectivity and people to people ties between India and Myanmar and the wider region and will help boost economic development of NE states under ‘Act East Policy’ of the Government,” said Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the inauguration.
Sittwe Port forms a link in India’s Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project. A sea lane connects Kolkata in eastern India to Sittwe on Myanmar’s western coast. From there, the corridor traces an inland route through Myanmar via the Kaladan River and a highway, crossing into northeastern India.
“The operationalisation of Sittwe Port would enhance bilateral and regional trade as well as contribute to the local economy of Rakhine State of Myanmar. The greater connectivity provided by the Port will lead to employment opportunities and enhanced growth prospects in the region,” said a press release issued by the ports ministry.
Union minister Sonowal reiterated India’s longstanding commitment towards the development and prosperity of people of Myanmar through developmental initiatives such as the Sittwe Port.
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In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony, Sonowal highlighted the close historical, cultural and economic ties between India and Myanmar, particularly the Rakhine state.
It is the Rakhine state that is the troubled region of Myanmar, where the Rohingya community is primarily based. A resource rich region of the country now is mired in tensions with many of the Rohingyas living as refugees in border states, particularly in Bangladesh, after they had to flee state persecution by the Junta.
According to the ministry, “This project was conceptualized to provide an alternative connectivity of Mizoram with Haldia / Kolkata / any Indian ports through Kaladan River in Myanmar. The project envisages highway road transport from Mizoram to Paletwa (Myanmar), thereafter from Paletwa to Sittwe (Myanmar) by Inland Water Transport (IWT) and from Sittwe to any port in India by maritime shipping.”
In 2008, India and Myanmar has signed a $484 million deal for the Kaladan project to connect northeastern India to the Indian Ocean. While the port has been operationalised, other parts of the Kaladan transport corridor such as the highways, have hit a roadblock due to the Rohingya crisis and civil unrest with fighting between Myanmar’s military and pro-democracy factions.
Myanmar is of geo-strategic importance to both India and China therefore both have maintained ties with the military regime since the 2021 takeover and toppling of the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The two countries have not followed Western sanctions despite political persecution and detentions in the country.
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