Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday on a visit to India after a gap of nearly four decades as part of New Delhi's ongoing engagement with democratic and multi-party polity in that country.
Suu Kyi, who is visiting India at the invitation of United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, will deliver the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture on Wednesday.
The pro-democracy leader was received at the airport by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.
"The visit of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be part of our ongoing engagement with the democratic and multi-party polity in Myanmar. It would provide opportunity to exchange views on all matters of mutual interest with a view to building upon the positive momentum in India-Myanmar relations," according to the official spokesperson in the ministry of external affairs.
"It would be recalled Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had accepted the invitation from Sonia Gandhi in her capacity as Chairperson of Nehru Memorial Fund to deliver the Nehru
Memorial Lecture when she met the prime minister during his visit to Myanmar in May 2012," the spokesperson said. Suu Kyi was also given the Jawaharlal Nehru award for international understanding in 1992.
During her nearly week-long stay, Suu Kyi will visit her alma mater, Lady Sri Ram College, where she will interact with the faculty and students.
Besides her engagements in Delhi, she will be travelling to Bangalore where she will visit the Indian Institute of Science and the Infosys Campus. She is also scheduled to tour rural areas in Andhra Pradesh to gain a first-hand impression of rural development and women's empowerment programmes being undertaken in India.
Suu Kyi spent several years in India during her early days when her mother Daw Khin Yi was Ambassador to India. She also spent some time as a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla in 1987.
Image: Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the Indira Gandhi international airport with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai in New Delhi.
Credit: B Mathur/Reuters
