Saturday, March 11 2006 11:26 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Yangon: Wrapping up his three-day successful visit to Myanmar, the first ever by an Indian Head of State, President A P J Abdul Kalam left here this morning(Mar11,2006) for Port Louis on the second leg of his six-day two-nation tour.

During his stay in Myanmar, Kalam pitched for restoration of democracy in Myanmar, saying India has strong interest in it and New Delhi will be willing to offer institution and capacity building assistance for establishing the democratic structure in that country. The demand for release of pro-democracy leader Aung Sung Suu Kyi, however, did not figure at the talks Kalam had with Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe.

Both the countries also signed a number of agreements, including one on the key petroleum sector, as energy-starved India has high stakes in Myanmar's gas reserves.

The President's visit comes at a time when relations between Myanmar and India have warmed up recently. As part of its 'Look East' policy, India has strengthened cooperation with Myanmar in a number of sectors including the military sector.

On the economic front, Kalam strongly favoured a trade volume between India and Myanmar at around two billion US dollars in the next three years and said that a systematic and synergetic policy has to be drawn up for this purpose. Trade between the two countries has expanded significantly over the last few years.

During his three-day stay in Port Louis, Kalam will be the Chief Guest at the National Day Celebration of Mauritius on March 12.

He will meet President Anerood Jugnauth and Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam during his stay.

Besides addressing a select audience of Ministers and Members of the National Assembly, he will interact with scientists and CEOs of IT Companies and an agreement will be signed with the Telecommunications Consultants of India Limited (TCIL) in the context of the Pan-African e-Networkproject, an initiative of Kalam.

The President will also visit Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre and Cyber Tower, both built with Indian assistance.

Kalam's Mauritius trip follows the visit by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam to India in October last year at the invitation of his counterpart Manmohan Singh, who had himself paid a visit to that country early last year.

India-Mauritius relationship is embedded in history. The friendship between the two countries is based on rich civilisational heritage of shared values, culture, languages and customs.

Kalam's visit is likely to further cement the existing ties of solidarity between India and Mauritius and prove to be another landmark in the multi-dimensional bilateral cooperation. In an era of globalization, both sides are conscious of the need for comprehensive economic cooperation.

India has promised all possible assistance to Mauritius for the development of its Small and Cottage Industries sector.

Both the countries condemn the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and have reaffirmed their total engagement in global coalition in the fight against terrorism under the aegis of the United Nations. Mauritius also supports India's candidature to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).