Narinjara News

November 27 2002

Burmese Junta leader to visit Bangladesh

The Burmese Junta leader Senior General Than Shwe will pay an official

visit to Bangladesh on December 17 - 18 at the invitation of the

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, local dailies in Dhaka

reported quoting foreign office sources yesterday.

The date of General Than Shwe's visit was finalized during the talks

between the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, and his Burmese

counterpart, U Win Aung, while he was on a three-day official visit of to

Burma from November 20 to 22.

A coordination meeting was held at the foreign office in Dhaka Monday,

where elaborate discussions on the programme were made in preparation of

the impending visit of the head of the Burmese junta.

According to the tentative programme, general Than Shwe will lead a

high-level Burmese delegation on December 17 morning.

Official talks between the heads of the two neighbouring countries will be

held on the same day, it said.  Bilateral relations, economic cooperation

and other matters of mutual benefits will dominate the talks, the dailies

said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has in recent time shown increased interest in

bilateral trades with Burma, gas pipeline for the Burmese gas to India and

a highly expected Asian Highway to connect Burma on the eastern front with

the Rakhine State of Burma.