India, Myanmar and Thailand will soon be connected by a 1,400-kilometre highway. This will be the first time India will reportedly be connected to other South East Asian nations by road.
Bhagwat Singh Bishnoi, the Indian Ambassador to Thailand, said on Monday there are over 73 bridges in Myanmar constructed almost 70 years ago (during World War II). The bridges are currently being restored with funding from India, Press Trust of India reports.
Once the work on the bridges is complete, the highways will be opened to traffic from India as well as Thailand.
"There has always been a meeting of minds between India and Thailand. Our two countries share similar cultural, spiritual and linguistic links. With this road we will also have physical connectivity," Bishnoi was quoted as saying by the agency.
The planned highway reportedly begins in India's eastern region of Moreh (a town in Manipur located on the Indo-Myanmar border) and goes up to Myanmar's Tamu City. The highway will then reach Thailand's Tak, in Mae Sot district, PTI added.
At present, negotiations are underway to "conclude" a three-nation motor vehicle agreement for use of the 1,400-km stretch of highway. In addition, the trans-national highway will also be used for transportation of goods and products.
According to reports, Indo-Thai bilateral trade amounted to over $8 billion in 2014 and was expected to reach about $12 billion in 2015, Somsak Triamjangarun, consul general of the Royal Thai Consulate General, had been quoted as saying by PTI in September last year.
