India, Myanmar border pact materialises; land ‘visa’ norms relaxed

India and Myanmar recently signed the landmark Land Border Crossing Agreement. The delegates from both the sides met at Tamu in the state of Manipur to inaugurate the checkpoints on both sides of the border. It is highly speculated that the said Land Border Crossing Agreement will help in promoting tourism in Northeast India and Myanmar.
The Ministry of External Affairs said that this development of opening check posts will facilitate travel on both the sides as people having passports and a valid visa will now be allowed to enter and exit through these check posts without requiring any permission. India has already mobilised custom and migration officials at the checkpost. The two crossing points are at Moreh in Manipur, which is located opposite Tamu in Myanmar’s Sagaing division, and Zokhawthar in Mizoram, which lies opposite Rhikhawdar in Myanmar’s Chin state.

As per the records, Myanmar shares around 1600 km border with four Northeastern Indian states―Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Myanmar is also vital for New Delhi’s connectivity initiatives in the region. Also, India, Thailand and Myanmar are working on the trilateral India-Thailand-Myanmar highway, which is highly expected to be completed by the end of next year.
So how does this development help India?As per the news reports, the new visa forms will definitely boost trade ties between Northeast India and Myanmar. Growth of medical tourism in both the sides of the border cannot be negated too.

Also, as per the news reports, this development will also lead to advocating flight services between Mandalay and Northeastern cities, as both the countries currently have only one route for air connectivity, i.e., between Kolkata and Yangon.

With this development, it is expected that not only ties of both the counties will grow stronger, but also tourism sector will witness a significant change.