Myanmar PM Two-ASEAN-Nation Tours To Enhance Bilateral Cooperation

Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein (Left) And Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Right)

Yangon - Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein left Nay Pyi Taw Sunday afternoon to pay official visits to Indonesia and Singapore, member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

At the invitation of Indonesian President Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsein Loong, Thein Sein will be paying the visit, aimed at enhancing bilateral and regional ties and cooperation.

Thein Sein‘s trip to Indonesia came more than three years after Indonesian President Susilo paid a state visit to Myanmar in March 2006 and more than four years after Singapore Prime Minister Lee came to the country in March 2005.

During Susilo‘s 2006 Myanmar visit, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Myanmar and Indonesia on setting up a joint commission for bilateral cooperation, while during Lee‘s 2005 Myanmar visit, Myanmar and Singapore agreed to further strengthen their bilateral cooperation in some sectors including tourism, air link, improvement of business environment and increase of foreign investment in Myanmar as well as technical cooperation.

Indonesia is Myanmar‘s fourth largest trading partner among ASEAN members after Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, having a bilateral trade with Myanmar standing 293.96 million U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2007-08. Indonesia‘s exports to Myanmar amounted to 207.24 million dollars, while its imports from Myanmar valued at 86.72 million dollars, according to Myanmar official statistics.

According to earlier report, Indonesia has established the first direct sea trade route with Myanmar operating between Jakarta and Yangon in a bid to broaden its network in the Southeast Asian region. The route will also enable Myanmar export goods to be shipped directly to Indonesia without requiring to transit through intervening ports. Direct trade link between Bandung and Yangon is also being sought.

Meanwhile, Indonesia‘s investment in Myanmar has so far reached over 241 million dollars since late 1988 when Myanmar opened to such investment, standing the 9^th among Myanmar‘s foreign investors.

Singapore is the third largest investor in Myanmar with over 1.5 billion US dollars being injected into the country as of 2007 since Myanmar opened to foreign investment in late 1988.

Singapore‘s bilateral trade with Myanmar amounted to 1.218 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2007-08 with Singapore standing as Myanmar‘s second largest trading partner after Thailand during the year. Of the total, Singapore‘s exports to Myanmar accounted for 816.33 million dollars, while its imports from Myanmar took 401.83 million dollars.

Over the past few years, Singapore has helped Myanmar develop its human resources with its higher education institutions offering various scholarships to Myanmar students. These institutes include the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Nanyang Technology University (NTU), Nanyang Institute of Management (NIM), the PSB Academy and the TMC Private College of International.

The Myanmar prime minister‘s two-ASEAN-nation tour will last for four days until next Wednesday, diplomatic sources said. Feng Yingqiu

Source: XinhuaNet.com (March 15^th, 2009)
Photo: DayLife.com

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