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News and Views from Myanmar (Vol.1 (r)



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 

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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 .

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