NEW DELHI -- Starting Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first state visit to Myanmar, a country pivotal to India's ambitions of forming stronger economic and trade links with Southeast Asia amid rival China's widening influence in the strategic region.
Modi last visited the neighboring country in November 2014 for an ASEAN-India summit. This will be his maiden bilateral visit to Myanmar at the invitation of President Htin Kyaw. President Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader, traveled to India last year in August and October, respectively.