Yangon: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today met Myanmar’s opposition leader and democracy crusader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.
The high-level meeting took place on the last day of Singh’s historic visit to the country. Both leaders held discussions for about 45 minutes.
“It has been a great honour and great privilege for me to have had this opportunity of interacting and meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We in India are very proud of our longstanding association with her and members of her family including her parents,” Singh said in a statement issued to the press.
During the meeting, Singh handed over to the Nobel laureate an invitation letter to deliver the next Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture.
“I sincerely hope that she will find it possible to visit India soon,” the Prime Minister added.
Manmohan Singh’s talks with the iconic leader are being seen as a sign that New Delhi wants both to reaffirm its ties with the democracy activist and to quell criticism that it had abandoned its commitment to a return of democracy in Burma.