At first glance, everything about Naypyidaw is like Chandigarh – only bigger and more happening. It is the newly constructed capital of Myanmar located between two mountain ranges. Its unpronounceable name means the royal capital or “seat of the kings.”

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh landed late evening at Naypyidaw, it was a historic moment in relations between the two countries. For it was the first visit by an Indian head of state since Rajiv Gandhi came as Prime Minister in 1987. Manmohan said when he landed, “India attaches the highest importance to its relations with Myanmar, which is a close friend and neighbour. Recent years have witnessed significant strengthening and expansion of our bilateral relations. My visit to Myanmar will provide an opportunity to review the progress… and we will also consider new initiatives and define a roadmap for the further development of our cooperation in the years ahead.”

When Manmohan has a bilateral summit with President Then Sein on Monday morning at the Presidential Palace, the two are expected to sign a slew of agreements that would further strengthen ties between the two countries.

“Stronger trade and investment links, development of border areas, improving connectivity between our two countries and building capacity and human resources are areas that I hope to focus on," said Manmohan.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister is expected to meet Suu Kyi in Yangon that would widely be seen as a clear signal of India’s commitment to democratic forces in the country.

Ironically, even when Rajiv Gandhi visited Myanmar in 1987, the government was controlled by a military junta that claimed to be the lawfully elected democratic government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. A year after Rajiv Gandhi’s visit, Myanmar descended into a bloody civil war termed the “8888 uprising” (so called because nationwide pro-democracy protests broke out on August 8, 1988). The uprising was brutally put down by the Tatmadaw or Myanamar Armed Forces that engineered a coup and ushered in military rule by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).

India had then come out with a strong statement condemning the coup, closing its borders and setting refugee camps along the border.

It was during the ‘four eights’ uprising that Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Myanmar’s legendary freedom fighter, emerged as a national icon of pro-democracy supporters that saw her National League of Democracy (NLD) win 80 per cent of seats in parliament elections held in 1990. Unnerved by the massive show of support, the ruling junta refused to cede power and put Suu Kyi under house arrest. Over the next 20 years, on some pretext or the other, they kept her under house arrest.

Suu Kyi was released only after the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won a massive victory in the 2010 general elections. Suu Kyi’s NLD had boycotted the elections. Since then the ruling USDP led by President Thein Sein has undertaken a path of democratic reform that also saw Suu Kyi’s NLD contest a by-election to Parliament on April 1 and win 43 of the 45 available seats.

Manmohan’s visit comes when the winds of major change are blowing across Myanmar and the country is poised for a historic transition. After breaking off relations with Myanmar in 1988 following the military coup, India had pragmatically reengaged with the ruling junta in the mid-1990s. Especially when it found that China’s influence had grown substantially and that North Eastern rebels had found a safe haven in Myanmar’s jungles. Since then India has steadily strengthened ties with Myanmar’s ruling junta and Manmohan’s visit 25 years after Rajiv Gandhi comes as the highpoint of the fresh beginning between the two countries.