The Chairperson of the National League of Democracy of Myanmar, Suu Kyi would be visiting India from November 13-18 at the invitation of the Chairperson of the ruling UPA coalition, Sonia Gandhi.

India has opened a new chapter in its relationship with Myanmar after the democratization process took roots in that country. The visit of Suu Kyi can be viewed as a part of India’s 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

Suu Kyi is scheduled to deliver the Nehru Memorial Lecture on the occasion of the birth Anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on November 14, 2012.

She 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 Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his visit to Myanmar in May 2012.

During her visit, Suu Kyi is scheduled to call on the Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) Meira Kumar and External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. She will pay tributes at the Samadhis of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in New Delhi.

Suu Kyi will visit her alma mater, Lady Sri Ram College, where she will interact with the faculty and students and also visit The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in Gurgaon.

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 firsthand impression of the 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.

The close and friendly relations between India and Myanmar have been strengthened in the recent past through exchanges of high level visits, including the State visits of the President of Myanmar to India in October 2011 and the Prime Minister of India to Myanmar in May 2012.