India committed to Myanmar's aid in short, medium and long term, Envoy Thakur says

Thakur added that India intends to extend support to Myanmar through the long term, as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in response to which India had launched 'Operation Brahma'.

"On the very day that the earthquake struck Myanmar, within hours, our Prime Minister had made it clear that we must move fast. Under his guidance, we have been able to do so. We have not only engaged Myanmar in the rescue and the relief phase, but also look forward to working with them in the rehabilitation and the reconstruction phase. So it's both in the short, medium and long term that we are committed to staying engaged with Myanmar. We were the first responders and providing a helping hand to Myanmar in need within 24 hours," he said.

Thakur, in conversation with ANI, said that India and Myanmar always had strong ties and confidence, but it got a further boost now.

"The trust and confidence between the two countries were always there but got a further strong boost because of the quick and committed, very strong response from India. We have not only mobilised our HADR assistants but have come with the field hospital. We have come with NDRF rescue teams. So far, We've had a total of six Air Force aircraft and five Indian Navy ships. Our assistance exceeds 1,000 tonnes of a range of HADR aid material, including gen sets, kitchen sets, all kinds of HADR food meals, ready to eat. We're also bringing in rice, cooking oil, we set up field hospital medicines," he said.

Thakur further said that Indian rescue teams nimbly reached near the epicentre Mandalay while others were still mobilising.

"The government and the people of Myanmar have noticed a very wide-ranging response. We were able to reach the epicentre or almost the epicentre of Myanmar, Mandalay, quickly. While the other teams were still mobilising, we were there extending a helping hand. So, this effort has been widely recognised and will stand us in very good stead as Myanmar's closest and most trusted neighbour," he said.

He further added that India was at the forefront of assistance to Myanmar after the March 28 earthquake killed 3,145- a figure reported by CNN.

"This is a difficult moment for the country and the people. India has been at the forefront of the response to this massive earthquake that has struck Myanmar along its main fault line, including Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Bago, Sagaing, and Northern Shan regions," he said.

He added that within 48 hours after the earthquake struck, Indian aircraft landed in Naypyidaw, started with the rescue work."India has been the most substantive, fastest, and the most significant responder to the earthquake in Myanmar. It was within 48 hours of the earthquake of 7.7 magnitude that our teams were in Naypyidaw, and I must share here that the Indian aircraft were the first to land in Naypyidaw, and also, our rescue teams were allotted the largest areas in Naypyidaw as well as in Mandalay to do their work," he said.

Thakur added that India has very old people-to-people ties with Myanmar, which stands at the center of India's foreign priorities.

"We have very older people to people level civilizational ties with Myanmar. It's been a very long journey for our two people together. But what is most important is that Myanmar stands at the confluence of several of India's foreign policy priorities- Neighbourhood first, Act East, Indo-Pacific construct and a whole range of isues and interests that connect our two countries together," he said.

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