[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
News and Views from Myanmar (Vol.1 (r)
- Subject: News and Views from Myanmar (Vol.1 (r)
- From: OKKAR66129@xxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 04:50:00
Subject: News and Views from Myanmar (Vol.1 No. 50)
News and Views from Myanmar
(Weekly Brief from MOFA, Yangon, Myanmar)
Vol.1 23 December 1999 No. 50
INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. All faiths exist together and flourish in Myanmar
FOREIGN RELATIONS
2. Minister for Foreign Affairs on a goodwill visit to China
3. Regional Workshop on ASEAN Investment Area
GENERAL NEWS
4. Symposium on Mobilization of Financial Resources
5. National Workshop on Women?s Health and Development
-----------------------------------------------------
INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. All faiths exist together and flourish in Myanmar
As the beginning of a new century or a new millennium is being welcomed
in various ways all over the world, favourable conditions such as national
solidarity, peace and tranquility and consolidation are emerging in the Union
of Myanmar.
Myanmar has been built by different national races such as Kachin,
Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Bamar, Mon, Rakhine and Shan. They all have freedom of
faith and culture and have been living in the Union throughout its history.
All the national races born in the Union have had the right to preserve their
respective traditions and culture of high standard since the time of ancient
Myanmar monarchs and it is also evident that they also have freedom of faith.
Myanmar people believe that all the faiths have power to teach the people
discipline and code of conduct of human society, social dignity and moral
virtues. Similarly, all the faiths emphatically teach loving kindness,
justice, loyalty and forgiveness and oppose animosity, malice, disloyalty and
injustice. In the Union of Myanmar where four cardinal virtues namely loving
kindness, compassion, rejoicement at others? success and prosperity and
indifference are thriving, all the faiths exist together and are flourishing;
it reflects the magnanimity of Myanmar people.
Although there are certain destructive elements who do not wish to see
the interests of Myanmar, have been spreading false and fabricated news
related to freedom of faith, devoted people will not accept their act of
using the religion in sowing the seeds of discord and suspicion among the
people.
All national races in Myanmar respect and practise the attitudes of
loving kindness, magnanimity and forgiveness and freedom of religion would
remain as tradition and would bring about goodwill relations among national
races.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
2. Minister for Foreign Affairs on a goodwill visit to China
At the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People?s
Republic of China Mr. Tang Jiaxuan, Minister for Foreign Affairs U Win Aung
left Yangon on 21 December 1999 to pay a goodwill visit to the People?s
Republic of China. While in China, he will hold talks with Mr. Tang Jiaxuan
and visit the cities of Kunming, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. On his way
back, Minister U Win Aung will also visit Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region.
3. Regional Workshop on ASEAN Investment Area
Regional Workshop on the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Process jointly
organized by Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration, ASEAN
Secretariat and Hanns Seidel Foundation began at Hotel Equatorial 20
December. Minister at the State Peace and Development Council Chairman?s
Office Brig-Gen Abel in his opening address, said that the Coordinating
Committee on Investment (CCI), under its Human Resource Development
Programme, is to conduct one workshop for the new member countries and
another workshop for the other ASEAN member countries every year. The prime
objective of this particular workshop is to provide investment officials from
new member countries, responsible for the implementation of the AIA
agreement, with better understanding on international investment issues
discussed at international fora and to facilitate discussion on how the new
member countries could better respond to the ramifications of these
international investment issues.
In line with such objective, the topics such as international investment
issues and its implications, investment cooperation in ASEAN, and features,
commitment and progress in the implementation of the AIA Agreement were
discussed by prominent resource persons. At the sixth ASEAN Summit held in
Hanoi in December 1998, the ASEAN leaders had adopted the Hanoi Plan of
Action aiming at, among others, implementing initiatives to hasten economic
recovery. To create a stable, prosperous and highly competitive ASEAN
Economic region in which there is a free flow of goods, services and
investments, the initiatives such as acceleration of implementing the ASEAN
Free Trade Area (AFTA) and acceleration of the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA)
were included.
It was agreed that in order to accelerate the implementation of the AIA
Agreement, Temporary Exclusion List (TEL) for the manufacturing sector will
be progressively phased out by the year 2003 instead of waiting for 2010 as
initially agreed. Myanmar will join the first six ASEAN countries to
progressively phase out the exclusions by the year 2003 instead of 2015.
Participants led by expert Mr. Martin Khor and Senior Officer Ms Maricel
Macesar of ASEAN Secretariat discussed investment matters relating to World
Trade Organization and impact on member nations, prospects of foreign
investment in ASEAN region, points on the investment agreement among ASEAN
nations and implementation.
The Regional Workshop on the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Process
continued for the second and final day at the Hotel Equatorial on 21
December. Delegates from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam reported to the
workshop on prospects of foreign investment in ASEAN region and
implementation of the basic agreement related to investment in ASEAN member
nations, progress in implementation of the projects under Hanoi Plan of
Action and work procedures. Participants took part in the discussions and
assessed the papers submitted to the workshop.
GENERAL NEWS
4. Symposium on Mobilization of Financial Resources
The Symposium on Mobilization of Financial Resources for Development in
Myanmar jointly sponsored by Myanmar Institute of Strategic and
International Studies and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies ( Singapore ),
with the support of Sasakawa Peace Foundation ( Japan ), was held on 17 and
18 December 1999 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yangon. Before this
symposium, Workshop on Mobilization of Financial Resources for Development in
Myanmar was held in Singapore from 29 to 30 October 1998 as a first phase for
the whole research project. The present symposium is the final phase of the
research project.
On the first-day Symposium, Chairman of Sasakawa Peace Foundation Mr.
Setsuya Tabuchi presented a paper on Internationalization of Yen. Afterwards,
Myanmar participants from Institute of Economics, Central Bank of Myanmar and
Ministry of Finance and Revenue presented papers, together with participants
from Japan and Singapore. On the second-day Symposium, participants from
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines presented papers on Indonesia ?
Mobilization of Domestic Financial Resources: Financial Reforms; Malaysia
?Mobilization of Domestic Financial Resources: Stock Exchange; and
Infrastructure Development in the Philippines: An Overview with Some Lessons
for Other Countries.
The symposium ended with remarks by Director-General U Aye Lwin of ASEAN
Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Lau Sim Yee, Director of
Sasakawa Peace Foundation and Professor Chia Siow Yue, Director of Institute
of Southeast Asian Studies of Singapore.
5. National Workshop on Women?s Health and Development
National Workshop on Priority Issues Affecting Women?s Health and
Development sponsored by National Working Committee for Womens? Affairs was
held from 22 to 24 December at the International Business Centre, Yangon.
Minister for Health Maj-Gen Ket Sein, in his opening address, said a regional
work shop on violence against women and health sector was held in January
1999 in Myanmar and it was attended by delegates and experts from nine
nations in the region and the present workshop is the continuation of the
previous one.
The Government has paid attention to development of entire women of
Myanmar, which is implementing Beijing Declaration and Work Programmes laid
down by the Fourth Women?s Conference held in Beijing in 1995. Myanmar became
a member of Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women on 22 July 1997. In order to systematically carry out the
Beijing work programmes, Women?s Affairs Committees and Work Committees at
different levels were formed .
The Government has provided assistance to groups on education, health and
economy, working group for preventing violence against women and
rehabilitation, and environment and women and information sectors are to be
extended in the year 2000. Violence against women is a great problem facing
the world today. Though it is not a big problem in Myanmar, violence is the
hindrance to peace and development of women?s life, said the Minister. He
stressed the importance of role of judicial sector, Police Force and social
and health care services in reduction of violence against women .
- - - - - - - - -