Myanmar President: Sharing intel with India on countering drugs, pushing to restart trilateral highway

Myanmar's PresidentMin Aung Hlaing, who was on India visit, has signalled a push for security cooperation with India, emphasising intelligence-sharing to tackle drug trafficking and insurgencies along their porous 1,600km border, while expressing optimism about restarting stalled connectivity projects and deepening IT collaboration.

In an interview to India's state broadcaster DD India, the Myanmar leader acknowledged that armed groups have long exploited the rugged, forested frontier for drug production to finance conflicts rooted in ethnic and political demands.

Production was brought under control around 2020 but surged again after the 2021 political upheaval. “We are now cracking down on this severely and taking strict legal actions,” he said, adding that intelligence-sharing with India and arrests on both sides have already helped bring the border situation under “reasonable control”.

This was a rare interview by Myanmar's President, during which he stressed that lasting success requires parallel progress on political stability. Myanmar is “transitioning toward democracy”, he said, and resolving ethnic grievances through systematic negotiations would curb insurgencies and, in turn, constrain drug production. Groups opposed to India have also used these networks as cover for disruption, he noted.

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“Addressing the issue in the manner I mentioned will resolve everything simultaneously,” Min Aung Hlaing added. The challenging mountainous terrain, which he knows well from his time as a battalion commander there, complicates operations especially in the rainy season, but security efforts continue.

On connectivity, the Myanmar leader expressed determination to revive the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, a flagship project spanning over 800 miles that has stalled for years due to security concerns. Routes on the Thai-Myanmar side are largely operational, but work on the Indian section linking the Northeast through Tamu and Moreh is critical. “We are working to soon reopen the route connecting Kalay and Tamu,” he said, prioritising restoration of normalcy along the border to enable trade and people-to-people movement. Once reopened, the route would link through central Myanmar to Thailand.

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India is viewed as a vital development partner across multiple sectors. Min Aung Hlaing highlighted opportunities in education, healthcare, agriculture, and particularly information technology. He pointed to the Yadanabon Cyber City project in Pyin Oo Lwin (formerly Maymyo), inviting Indian IT firms to invest in what was once a colonial-era hill station. “If IT companies and businesses from India come to operate there, it will offer immense opportunities,” he said, praising India’s global leadership in the sector.

The remarks, to the state broadcaster came after an extended meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that lasted over two hours and covered a broad agenda including investment opportunities, defence, maritime security, border affairs and learning from India’s development model. “We achieved very successful outcomes,” Min Aung Hlaing stated. India’s swift response, sending humanitarian aid after 2025 earthquake through Operation Brahma was seen as a positive gesture by Mynamar side.