This article outlines the political and economic relationship between India and Myanmar: the policy framework, high-level visits and meetings, other senior-level engagement, bilateral trade, and the business and institutional meetings that support commerce. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.

Overview

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India and Myanmar share deep-rooted historical, civilizational, cultural and people-to-people ties, which the brief describes as the foundation of their contemporary partnership. The two countries are immediate neighbours, linked by a land border and a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

The brief lists cooperation spanning trade, connectivity, border management, defence and security, development partnership, capacity building, energy, health, education and cultural exchanges. It states that the two countries are guided by India's Neighborhood First, Act East, Indo-Pacific and MAHASAGAR visions.

Visit of Min Aung Hlaing

The brief refers to a recent Official Visit of Min Aung Hlaing (MAH) to India, which it says provided an opportunity to review progress across key areas of cooperation and explore new avenues for partnership. MAH started his visit in Bodh Gaya and travelled to Delhi, where he held meetings with the Prime Minister, the President, EAM and NSA. He also travelled to Noida and Mumbai and visited key institutions. The brief does not give the dates of this visit. An MEA joint statement dated 1 June 2026 records it as his first Official Visit to India, from 30 May to 3 June 2026, with talks with the Prime Minister on 1 June 2026.

Leaders' meetings in 2025

The brief states that the two leaders met twice in the year before it was written:

  • Bangkok: on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit, immediately after the March earthquake, the Prime Minister offered condolences and pledged relief under Operation Brahma.
  • Tianjin, 31 August 2025: on the sidelines of the SCO meeting, the Prime Minister met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to discuss a broad bilateral agenda, including development, connectivity, rare earths, defence, border management, trade and the elections in Myanmar.

Earlier high-level visits

Earlier high-level exchanges recorded in the brief include Prime Ministerial visits to Myanmar in 2014 and 2017, and President Ram Nath Kovind's State Visit in 2018. Myanmar made reciprocal state visits in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Other senior-level engagement

  • June and July 2024: External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar met his Myanmar counterpart during his transit in June 2024, and again on the margins of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers' meeting in July 2024.
  • August 2024: NSA Shri Ajit Doval visited Myanmar to attend the BIMSTEC NSAs meeting.
  • April 2026: Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh attended the presidential inauguration of President U Min Aung Hlaing.

The brief also records regular ministerial and deputy-ministerial travel from Myanmar to India, including visits by the NSPNC Chairman and Border Affairs Minister, the Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, and the Central Bank Governor.

Bilateral trade

The brief describes India as a long-standing and increasingly important economic partner for Myanmar. Bilateral trade reached US$1.95 billion in FY 2025-26 (April-March), up about 24% from FY 2024-25, according to the brief.

In FY 2025-26, India's exports rose 31.48% to US$808 million, while imports from Myanmar were US$1,149 million. As of June 2026, India has risen to become Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner, from seventh previously.

Business and institutional meetings

The brief records frequent business delegations and sectoral visits, including missions led by the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Manipur Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and an Indian rare-earth and critical-minerals delegation.

Indian industry has taken part in bilateral business events: 62 firms attended the India-Myanmar Pharmaceutical Business Forum, and 26 companies attended the 2nd India-Myanmar Business Conclave in 2026.

Institutional cooperation on trade continues through regular meetings. The 9th Joint Trade Committee met on 21 January 2026.