India is Burma’s second-largest export market and ranks seventh as a source of imports into Burma. This added up to $577 million in the financial year 2004-2005, but the Indian Chamber of Commerce has set a target of almost double that figure to $1 billion for the current 2006-2007 year.

But the ICC admits that the “full potential of bilateral trade faces obstacles-not least in transport, banking and infrastructure. The ICC believes the potential includes greater trade in agriculture, textiles, telecommunications and oil and gas.

However, the Burmese regime is more interested in pursuing business in the fields of tourism and technology, according to Indian sources in Bangkok.

New Delhi recognizes the two sides will have to walk faster before they can start running: It is providing $35 million in “assistance” to improve Burmese infrastructure, such as roads, railways and telephone systems.

Meanwhile, Burmese delegates to an India-Burma conference in Kolkata on February 15, called Trade and Commerce: Challenges and Prospects, suggested that bilateral trade be costed in Euros instead of US dollars.