Ansari to open Moreh-Mandalay telecom link today

Mandalay (Myanmar), Feb 7: Wrapping up two days of intensive talks with Myanmar's top leaders focussing on security and economic cooperation, Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived here today on the final leg of his visit that will have a mix of serious business and sightseeing.Ansari will inaugurate an optical fibre link between Mo-reh town of Manipur bordering Myanmar and Mandalay, a bustling commercial town in northwestern part of the country whose importance from the point of business is next to Yangon.Connectivity has been a key theme in talks between the two countries for economic cooperation. The telecom link being executed by TCIL has been set up at a cost of seven million dollars given by the Exim Bank of India to Myanmar Government. The Vice-President will make the first call from Mandalay to Moreh tomorrow.Ansari today visited the picturesque Mandalay Hill which houses an ancient pagoda and attended a banquet hosted by the Mayor of Mandalay city. The Vice President will visit the Mandalay Palace and a pagoda tomorrow before returning to Delhi at the end of his four-day visit.