India and Myanmar signs pact for socio-economic development of Rakhine State

India and Myanmar has signed a MoU on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State, from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims recently fled to Bangladesh following incidents of violence against the community. The MoU is intended to help the Government of Myanmar to achieve its objective of restoration of normalcy in Rakhine State and enable the return of displaced Muslim Rohingyas. Under this MoU, the Government of India (GoI) proposes to take up a project to build prefabricated housing in Rakhine State so as to meet the immediate needs of returning people. This is the first Government to Government (G to G) pact inked by Myanmar with a cooperation partner focused on socio-economic development and livelihood initiatives in the Rakhine State. In addition to the Rakhine State project proposals, a number of ongoing friendship projects were reviewed. Issues regarding the operation and maintenance of Sittwe port and the road from Paletwa- Zorinpui were reviewed. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is on an official visit to Myanmar.