New Delhi: India will sign an agreement with Myanmar in April to develop a port there, in a move signalling growing cooperation between the two neighbours.

"A formal agreement to develop Sittwe port in Myanmar will be signed when a high-level Myanmarese delegation visits India in April," Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said at a seminar here.

The port will provide a gateway for the North-eastern states to the rest of the world, he said. proposes to build the port, make the Kaladan river navigable up to the Mizoram border, and then provide highway connectivity within Mizoram," Ramesh said.

Bilateral trade between the two neighbours is nearly one billion dollars and both the countries are keen to enhance it, especially through border trade points along their 1,600 km long border.

Myanmar is facing isolation by the international community over the human rights record of its military rulers and India also favours ushering of political reforms by its eastern neighbour.

India has been supportive of the efforts of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari towards ushering in of democracy in Myanmar.

Source : PTI