India has seized the initiative to reopen for cross-border trade a historic road linking its northeastern region to Myanmar and China. This week federal junior Commerce Minister Jairam Ramesh handed a sack of salt to a Myanmar army officer at Pansaung where the Stilwell Road enters Myanmar territory, heralding what he described as a new chapter in trade and commerce with neighbouring countries.

The 1700km Stilwell Road was built during World War II by Allied and Chinese troops under the command of US General Joseph Stilwell to link up with the 1257km Myanmar Road into China.

The Stilwell Road ran from Ledo in Assam to Myitkyina in Myanmar, from where the Myanmar Road ran to Kunming in China’s Yunnan province…

…Mr Ramesh is pulling out all stops to revive the road to speed economic and social integration between India’s northeast and ASEAN countries.

The commerce ministry wants to reopen the route by 2010…

– Extracted from “India moves to reopen Stilwell Road by 2010”, The Myanmar Times, 10-16 December 2007. Previous New Mandala coverage of road construction efforts in this region are available from the archives: August 2006, May 2007 and July 2007.