Myanmar will not allow anti-India elements to use its territory: President Min Aung Hlaing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing during bilateral talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday, June 1, 2026. Photo credit: ANI

Myanmar President U Min Aung Hlaing has assured that he will not allow the use of his country’s territory by groups that pose a security threat to Indian interests. The concerns were voiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted Mr Hlaing at Hyderabad House for wide-ranging talks, including calls for dialogue between the junta-backed government and the pro-democracy opposition. Foreign Minister Vikram Misri said the discussion was “free-flowing” and included the issue of the continued detention of former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The President reiterated Myanmar’s assurance that its territory will not be allowed to be used against India’s security interests. The Prime Minister affirmed that India, as a steadfast and trusted partner of Myanmar, remains committed to deepening security cooperation between the two countries,” said a joint statement issued at the end of the said official discussion, which indicated that India had increased the presence of insurgents in the northeastern territory of Myanmar. Mr. Misri later said that the matter was raised by Mr. Modi during formal talks with the visiting dignitary.

Mr Hlaing’s visit is seen as India’s pragmatic engagement with Myanmar despite the country’s conflict situation since the February 2021 coup that toppled the National League for Democracy (NLD) government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Speaking to the media after the discussion, Mr Misri said that a detailed discussion took place during the talks to “find a way out” of the civil conflict, saying that India believed in “sustained dialogue” between all parties involved to deal with the conflict in Myanmar. He added that when it comes to Myanmar, India does not believe in “detachment”.

“I should emphasize that our engagement in Myanmar is not intended to be a comment on the internal political arrangements in that country. The prime minister raised the issue of the need for lasting peace as Myanmar finds its way back to democracy,” Mr Misri said, explaining that India’s concerns about the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi were raised during a “free-flowing” conversation.

He further informed that the two sides discussed infrastructure projects such as the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the Moreh-Mae Tsot Trilateral Expressway to connect India’s northeast to Myanmar via Thailand – both of which were “delayed” by the conflict in Myanmar. “Right now, the obstacle facing both these projects is the security situation in Myanmar,” Mr. Misri said, adding that there is currently “active hostilities” on the Kaladan Highway between the Myanmar military and Rakhine State’s ethnic armed groups.

Mr Misri further said the two sides discussed defense cooperation on Monday, which will include training Myanmar troops for UN peacekeeping operations. “That’s something we’ve been focusing on for a number of years. Defense cooperation with Myanmar focuses on training, capacity building, institution building, and a very important part of the training is also UN peacekeeping.” Mr. Misri also said that defense cooperation between the two sides includes concerns related to the security of the 1,643 km long India-Myanmar border.

He also informed that the discussion was about critical minerals as Myanmar has significant deposits in Kachin State, which borders India and China. Part of the discussion was the question of the existence of cyber fraud centers in the southeast of Myanmar near the border with Thailand. Mr. Misri said India has so far airlifted at least 2,411 cyber-fraud workers in Myanmar. “We currently have more than 150 Indian citizens who are still stuck in various cyber scams and we are in touch with the Myanmar government to repatriate them,” Mr. Misri said.

Mr Hlaing’s visit also drew criticism from Myanmar’s exiled opposition, and in particular the National Unity Government (NUG) in exile, which urged India not to grant legitimacy to his junta-backed government. The visit began on May 30 with the arrival of the President in Bodh Gaya. However, his meetings in Delhi were held outside the media glare. The visiting president met the Indian business community at an event organized by the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce at the Taj Hotel on Sunday and media requests to cover the event were ignored.

Similarly, the meeting with Mr. Modi at Hyderabad House took place without the usual press briefings, with the visiting dignitaries along with the Prime Minister reading a prepared text without taking questions from the media. The Irrawaddy, an exile media outlet that reports on Myanmar, said Mr Hlaing had urged the Indian business community to invest in the Yadanabon township project run by his son Aung Pyae Sone.

| Video Credit: PTI

Published – 1 Jun 2026 17:53 IST