India Myanmar

Myanmar and India sign hydro deal: report
4 hours ago
YANGON (AFP) — Myanmar has signed an agreement with neighbouring India to build two hydro electricity projects in the northwest of the country, state media reported Friday.
Myanmar's Hydroelectric Power Department and India's Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd signed the agreement for the construction in Chin state, which borders India, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
The paper said the agreement called for the building of a 1200-megawatt dam in Htamanthi and a 600-megawatt dam in Shwesayay.
The deal was reportedly signed Tuesday in the reclusive nation's administrative capital Naypyidaw during a ceremony attened by minister for electric power Zaw Min and Indian Ambassador Bhaskar Kumar Mitra.
Myanmar and India share a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border, and the hydro deal is the latest move signalling expanding ties between the two counties.
India was until the mid-1990s a supporter of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi but it has since cultivated ties with the ruling junta as it sees Myanmar as a key source of energy to power its fast economic growth.
India was one of the first countries to rush aid to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis hit on May 2-3, leaving 138,000 people dead or missing.
Over the past few years New Delhi has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to Myanmar despite increasing international calls for the military government to introduce democracy.