The winds of change in Myanmar brought Ms Suu Kyi to India, her first visit
since her release from her house arrest. Her visit is getting covered extensively
by the Indian media, something that the other heads of neighbouring states
hardly manage to get. Her close relationship with India as her educational
base, her father’s close political relations with India in early days of
independence and her being a noble laureate have all contributed to the
excitement of the press. In her interviews she appears as a calm and composed
person who has overcome her bitter experiences and has moved on. She talks of
being disappointed by India’s failure to support the democratic cause of her
movement, but immediately jumps to accept the pragmatic aspects of diplomacy
and wants to start a new chapter. Her visit has provided India a golden chance
to shrug off the past and start a meaningful partnership with Myanmar.
Myanmar used to be an important trade partner of colonial India. Hundreds
of thousands of Indians from Bengal (now divided as West Bengal in India and
Bangladesh) went to seek their fortune in Myanmar. The Marwaris (a trading
community from western Indian state of Rajasthan) established trade links and
industries in Myanmar. Regular ferry services used to connect the Indian trade
hub of Kolkata to Yangon and then onwards to Singapore. Indian cinema of the
40s had references of getting telephone call from Rangoon (now Yangon) where
the protagonist has gone to work. Such were the close relations between the two
countries. Much has changed since independence and post military takeover of
Myanmar. So much so that Ms Suu Kyi could not fly direct but had to make a stopover
in Bangkok to reach New Delhi.
Advantage Myanmar
 |
| The sky looks brighter, for you and for me |
Myanmar shares its borders with India on its west, China on its east and
Thailand on its south. All three countries are fast growing economies with a
huge middle class. Myanmar is also the only ASEAN (Association of South East
Asian Nations, a regional trade bloc) state to share borders with India. The
country was long isolated from rest of the world due to the military rule and
international sanctions, leading to a low industry base and a small economy.
However the social indicators of the country are healthy with high rate of
literacy and low unemployment.
Indicator
|
Value*
|
Comparison
with India*
|
GDP
|
$82.68
billion
|
Revenue,
Tata sons 2011-12 $100 billion^
|
Literacy
|
89.9%
|
74%
|
Median Age
|
27.2
|
26.5
|
Population
Growth
|
1.07%
|
1.2%
|
Unemployment
|
5.5%
|
9.8%
|
Urbanization
|
34%
|
30%
|
*CIA world fact book, ^financial
results Tata sons
|
The economy of Myanmar depends largely on agriculture. 40% of the GDP
contributions come directly from agriculture, major industries are also engaged
in agricultural processing and timber. Other industries are mostly in natural
resource mining and oil production. This combination gives an ideal platform to
build the industrial base of the country and diversify its economy. Geographical
advantage of Myanmar can help India connect with the fast growing ASEAN market by
linking its surface connectivity.
Top of the list
India should look at long term prospects of closer ties with Myanmar and
prepare a list of top priorities. Given the low industrial base of Myanmar
there is a huge potential for Indian companies to setup base there. India in
the past decade has developed skills in automobile, pharmaceuticals, steel,
cement, etc. all these will be required in abundance once Myanmar opens up
fully for investments. India should also offer help in institutional reforms
like training of civil servants, setting up of an independent election
commission, training and recruiting staff to oversee elections, building
capacity to improve infrastructure, etc. Another major exercise will be to
provide direct connectivity between the two countries, both surface and air. India
is already providing financial help to Bangladesh to connect its north eastern
states. Similar help can be provided to Myanmar to complete the seamless
connection into ASEAN. There are proposals of intra ASEAN high speed rail
networks. India will benefit by linking its own rail network to that of ASEAN.
Increasing business relation will feed the demand of travel and improve
productivity.
All this will however not happen till basics of a healthy business
environment are not put into place. Independent judiciary, enforcing contracts,
transparency in governance, etc are some of the aspects Myanmar has to reform
before foreign investment starts pouring in. This however should not stop the Indian
government and business to start chalking out their Myanmar plans.
