NEW
DELHI: Though US President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
condemned "the deplorable state of human rights" in Myanmar, it was important
for India to remain engaged with its strategic neighbour, Foreign Secretary
Shyam Saran said here on Tuesday.
Addressing reporters on the
eve of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's visit to the country, Saran said the issue
of Myanmar had come up during the US president's visit last week. But the prime
minister "expressed the importance of the relationship with Myanmar", the
foreign secretary said.
The
country, ruled by the military junta, is of enormous strategic importance to
India with the two sharing a 1,400 km border that touches the four sensitive
northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
Myanmar has been helping India
by conducting military raids against anti-India insurgents in jungle hideouts in
its territory, a measure that New Delhi has deeply
appreciated.