Before the dinner at 7:30 pm, the Indian President extended greetings to the Senior General and wife at Darbar Hall.

Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing were accompanied by SPDC Member General Thura Shwe Mann and wife Daw Khin Lay Thet, SPDC Secretary-1 General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo and wife Daw Khin Saw Hnin, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win and Myanmar Ambassador to India U Kyi Thein. The Indian President was accompanied by Secretary of External Affairs Ministry Mrs. Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Dr. Villur Sundararajan Seshadri, Indian President's Personal Assistant Dr Christy Fernandez, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs of India Mr T.S Tirumurti and Head of the Protocol Department Mr Sunil Lal.

The programme to extend greetings to Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and Indian President Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil was held in front of the dinner hall. The military band played the Anthems of Myanmar and India.

Indian Vice-President Mr Mohammad Hamid Ansari and wife, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and wife, ministers, deputy ministers, the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar and wife, and high-ranking officials greeted Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and Indian President Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

SPDC Member General Thura Shwe Mann and wife Daw Khin Lay Thet, SPDC Secretary-1 General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo and wife Daw Khin Saw Hnin, Lt-Gen Min Aung Hlaing of the Ministry of Defence and wife, Adjutant-General Lt-Gen Thura Myint Aung and wife, ministers and delegation members also greeted the Indian President.

Indian President Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her speech said that it was a pleasure for her to welcome Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and delegation members; that true friendship, friendly relations historical background, geographical features and cultural relations between the two nations made further contribution towards bilateral friendly relations; that same heritage of Buddhism, experiences on colonialism, independence movements and recent bilateral cooperation reached a milestone of cooperation and friendship between the two peoples; that the Senior General's goodwill visit to India in 2004 is an historic trip that further cemented the bilateral relations and led to bilateral cooperation for mutual interest; that there have been more goodwill visits of leaders between the two countries; that the bilateral relations is continuously improving in various sectors; that the two neighbours are jointly implementing development projects and plans such as Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport project, Htamanthi and Shwesaryay hydropower project, Heavy Trucks factory project in Magway and cable line project and further progress has been made in energy, electric power, agriculture, IT and railway sectors; that location of Myanmar serves as a bridge between ASEAN countries and South Asian countries; that for India, Myanmar is like a gateway to ASEAN; that Myanmar is an active member of BIMSTEC; as well as an observer of SAARC; that bilateral relations generate closer relations among regional countries; that Waso Fullmoon Day falls on one of the days of the visit, and delegation members could visit Buddhist sites; that the meeting held in Delhi for mutual interest brought a lot of good returns, and agreements could be signed; and that this will further enhance bilateral relations. Next, she proposed a toast.

Senior General Than Shwe expressed thanks for warm welcome since the Myanmar delegation arrived at New Delhi and for the dinner, saying that Myanmar and India are good neighbourly countries that share the same border and have existed in peace for thousands of years; that the two peoples have close relations to each other due to the close identity of historical backgrounds, geographical features, cultures and religious customs and traditions of the two countries; that the two countries have similar history of movements to throw off the yoke of colonialism; that after regaining independence, the two neighbouring countries have been maintaining good neighbourly relations based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence; that friendly relations between the two countries have been further cemented and they have boosted multipurpose cooperations thanks to the reciprocal visits of State leaders of the two countries; that economic cooperation and development cooperation between India and South East Asian countries have been further strengthened; that bilateral relations and cooperation have been improved due to India's "Look East" policy; that it is needed to cooperate more than ever in tasks for IT, industry and transport between Myanmar and India; that with pleasure Myanmar will serve as an archway and a bridge between South Asian and ASEAN countries; that a boost relations and cooperation between India and ASEAN will provide impetus for bilateral relations and cooperation between Myanmar and India; that goodwill visits of leaders of the two countries not only further bolstered bilateral friendship but also created a new era of multipurpose cooperation; that the purpose of his
goodwill visit is to fortify friendly relations between the two governments and two peoples; that it is required to expedite development projects designed for mutual interest in order to improve Myanmar-India relations into strategic relations; that Myanmar is pleased to see India's economic growth and such changes as IT, biology, agriculture, industry and science; that Myanmar thanks India for political, economic and technical assistance; and that Myanmar hopes increase in IT cooperation and investment from India. Next, he proposed a toast.

Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing and party and Indian President Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil and party enjoyed dinner together. After the dinner, Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing left the Presidential Palace for the ITC Maurya Hotel.