Information team leader Major-General Zaw Min Tun speaks to media
March 9
On the invitation of President of the Russian Federation and the President of the Republic of Belarus, the Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister was on a statelevel goodwill visit to Russia and Belarus. The visit covered the period from the 3rd to the 9th of this month. We made timely media notices and so the information is already in the public domain about the activities and achievements.
I won’t go into it further, but I want to emphasize the main benefits for our nation. The gains can be divided into three streams: political, economic and social.
We got robust assurances from Russia and Belarus, in terms of international relations. Myanmar has received support on the global stage from both countries historically, and the two countries have pledged to continue this over the past year. Secondly, as for the elections in Myanmar, it should be taking place no sooner than the last week of December, and no later than the second week of January. Russia, Belarus and others nations have congratulated the elections.
They also agreed to send observers to oversee the process. Our people are going to benefit from this because we will, to restore our people will, to restore the multi party democracy system that our people is longing for the people. It will be implemented no matter what. Russia and Belarus are endowed with much more sophisticated economies than Myanmar. As you know, Myanmar is an agriculturebased country heading towards the path of industrialization. There are a lot of opportunities for us in this field. Belarus, for example, has a land area roughly one-third that of Myanmar, it is a landlocked country with a population of more than 9.1 million. Belarus has only a tenth of the land area of the rest of Europe but its agricultural sector alone generates USD 9 billion in GDP in it despite its lesser agricultural land and difficulty of climate where temperature at night in certain areas fall down to -2 degree or -12 degree Celsius. And why shouldn’t Myanmar enjoy the same fate, considering our climate and resources?” We require modern agricultural and livestock systems.
Agreements have been concluded on cooperation in the construction of fertilizer factories in Myanmar (in cooperation with Russian and Chinese partners), as well as on the country’s cooperation with China in agricultural development.
There are three strategically located deep-sea ports also in the country: Kyaukphyu, Thilawa and Dawei. Myanmar – The Dawei deep-sea port project, which has been stalled for a while; we signed an MOU with Russia to resume the development of the project. Russia, as the primary partner, but also other countries to participate. Russia and Belarus both perform well in healthcare and education. We are also trying to address these sectors in Myanmar. To sum up, this visit will pave the way for more opportunities for Myanmar in moving towards the multi-party democracy system desired by our people, developing the country and ensuring prosperity for all. A journey that a lot of hard-earned and happily-paying off for our country’s growth.