NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar engage in quiet diplomacy with Myanmar

NEW DELHI: Quiet diplomacy is the order of the day in the Modi government. China and South Korea are not the only countries that senior officials, including foreign secretary S Jaishankar, visited quietly in the past few weeks.

National Security Adviser AK Doval was joined by Jaishankar (on his way to China) and the duo made quiet visits to neighbouring Myanmar last week as part of an expanding engagement with the new leadership there. Doval met Myanmar’s foreign minister and democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi as India hopes to invite her in the near future. These visits are significant as external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had to earlier postpone her trip to Myanmar in May following her indisposition.

The objective is to cultivate Suu Kyi, the real power behind this government in Myanmar, an official source said. Doval and Syu Kyi discussed matters on cooperation in agriculture and infrastructure sectors, border management and ways to strengthen bilateral ties, as per a statement from Myanmar’s official media. India shares a 1,600-km-long boundary with Myanmar.

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Last year Doval had played key role in Indian Army’s operations against Naga rebels of the NSCN ( Khaplang) faction along the border. Security and defence partnership with Myanmar are key elements of India’s Myanmar policy. Sources here indicated India is trying to woo Buddhists from this Southeast Asian country through special arrangements for Myanmar pilgrims to Buddhist sites like Bodh Gaya and Sarnath.