Local merchants and business owners in Myanmar’s Rakhine State expect to trade directly with India via the India-funded international Sittwe Port, which opened on 9 May, according to a report by the Development Media Group, conveyed by UNOPS.
The Rakhine State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RSCCI) and an Indian delegation led by India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways met at Sittwe Hotel on Tuesday.
The meeting focused on increased production by small-scale and medium-scale businesses in Rakhine State, their access to markets, and joint ventures between Indian and local businesspeople in Rakhine State. “We discussed preferential trade and reduction of tariffs on exports from Myanmar through Sittwe Port, and conditions for regular operation of cargo ships between Sittwe and Kolkata, and the possibility for local businessmen to operate their vessels in inland water transport,” a RSCCI statement said.
Officials of the Rakhine State Coastal Ship Owners Association also held talks with the Indian delegation. To bring the proposals to fruition, there is a need for the two countries to sign a coastal shipping line agreement, said Rakhine State businessman Khin Maung Gyi. “With that agreement, ships from India can enter Rakhine State, and vice versa. Local businessmen plan to import steel, fertiliser and cement from India,” he said.
Local business owners in Rakhine State said they have yet to wait and see how overseas trade will be done through Sittwe Port. “Indian and Myanmar authorities said the trade will create business opportunities for Rakhine State as well as Chin State and Mizoram and Zorinpui in India,” said Khin Maung Gyi.
Sittwe Port is part of the India-funded Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project. Once fully operationalised, the project will provide alternate connectivity from the eastern coast of India to the northeastern states of India through Sittwe Port. The port connects to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and from Paletwa to Zorinpui in Mizoram through a road component.
