New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for Myanmar, which is likely to be his last foreign visit as PM. Dr Singh will head to Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Summit.
At the summit, the Prime Minister is expected to make a strong pitch for giving a fillip to India's Look East policy and explore ways to enhance connectivity, transport, trade, tourism and other linkages to all the northeastern states.
He will also use his two-day visit to renew contacts with leaders of the seven-nation group.
BIMSTEC is an expression of India's Look East Policy of the 1990s, coinciding with Thailand's Look West Policy. The seven members - India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal - bring together over 20 per cent of the world population, which is about 1.5 billion, and a GDP of over $2.5 trillion.
"One cannot underestimate the potential of BIMSTEC in bringing the fruits of these cross connectivity linkages to the northeastern states," Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said ahead of the visit.
"It is in our interest to make sure that our northeast does not fall behind, that it develops as well in a manner that is commensurate to its potential so that when the connectivity happens and the roads and everything else gets connected, we are able to develop in parallel if not faster and exploit the potential," she said.
With some sticky issues still to be resolved, it may take some time for the grouping to wrap up a free trade pact.
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