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Indian president's Yangon trip seen as important gesture

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New Delhi's decade-old 'look east' policy is poised to take another significant step with the first visit by an Indian head of state to military-ruled Myanmar next month.

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During his three-day 'goodwill visit' to India's eastern neighbour beginning on March 8, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will hold talks in Yangon with Myanmar's military strongman, General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, and tour the city of Mandalay and Bagan's famed Buddhist temples.

In India's power structure, Mr Kalam is only a figurehead, so the visit will not result in the signing of any major agreement with the military junta.

But it is seen as an important political gesture from New Delhi towards its once-estranged neighbour, reciprocating Than Shwe's path-breaking visit to India in October 2004.

'The goodwill visit is expected to contribute significantly to the further strengthening of bilateral relations,' a spokesman of the India's External Affairs Ministry said.

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Relations between India and Myanmar have not always been so cordial.

After the military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in 1988, India became a vocal supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, the popular leader now under house arrest in Yangon.

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