The Embassy of India and the Rakhine State Government entered into two separate agreements today to facilitate capacity building and economic development in Rakhine State. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Minerals signed a MoU with the Embassy of India that will enable the latter to supply 15 tractors and 15 crawler harvesters to the State Government, meeting thereby a key need expressed by the Peasants Union in the State, according to a press release.

The Department of Social Affairs of the State Government, meanwhile, signed a separate MoU that will enable the Embassy of India to provide 40 computers and their associated peripherals to the Sittwe Computer University. 

The MoUs were signed by U Kyaw Lwin, Hon'ble Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Minerals (Rakhine State Government) and Dr. Chan Thar, Hon'ble Minister for Department of Social Affairs, on behalf of their respective Ministries and H.E. Shri Vikram Misri, Ambassador of India to Myanmar on behalf of Embassy of India, Yangon, in the august presence of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Rakhine State, U Nyi Pu. Cabinet Ministers from Rakhine State Government, Principal and Teachers from Sittwe Computer University, Peasant Union members and prominent civil society members from Rakhine State were also present on the occasion.

The objective of providing the assistance is to promote agricultural mechanization in Rakhine State and also to promote computer literacy among Rakhine State youth, which will prepare them for employment opportunity in software sector.

The Government of India is committed to a strong development assistance partnership with the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Recognizing the special challenges in and needs of Rakhine State, where equitable development of all sections of the State's inhabitants is key to building social harmony, peace and prosperity, India and Myanmar have separately entered into an agreement on the Rakhine State Development Programme, under which India is providing US$ 25 million in grant assistance over a period of five years. This assistance is dedicated to projects in Rakhine State, the first of which is a pilot project to build 250 prefabricated houses in Northern Rakhine for displaced members of the Rakhine Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim communities.

The two countries are cooperating closely to develop more projects that can be executed under the aegis of Rakhine State Development Programme, the statement said.