Wednesday, March 8 2006 14:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Marking the first high-level visit by an Indian leader to Myanmar, President A P J Abdul Kalam today(Mar 8,2006) embarked on a three-day trip to the neighbouring country during which two agreements in the fields of energy and space will be signed.

The visit to Myanmar will form part of the first leg of the six-day two-nation tour which will also take the President to Mauritius where he will be the Chief Guest at the National Day celebrations of that country.

He was seen off at the airport by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Law Minister H R Bharadwaj.

In Myanmar, the two sides will sign an agreement on evacuation of natural gas from Arakan port of Myanmar, either through a pipeline via North East or Bangladesh.

Another agreement to be signed will be on setting up of a ground station in Myanmar for receiving remote sensing data from IRS satellite for various uses, including agricultural purposes like survey of soil and minerals.

Kalam will have talks with Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe, who during his visit to New Delhi last year had invited the President to Yangon.

The President will also visit the mausoleum of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor of India, who was exiled to Yangon after the British quelled the first war of independence. Kalam is scheduled to visit the revered Shwedagon Pagoda where Buddha's relics are enshrined.