NEWS - Myanmar, Vietnam Hold Joint

[TheTruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Myanmar, Vietnam Hold Joint Commission Meeting

            Xinhua
            22-JUN-98

            YANGON (June 22) XINHUA - Myanmar
            and Vietnam Monday held the third
            meeting of the two countries' Joint
            Commission for Bilateral Cooperation
            (JCBC) here, state-run Radio Myanmar
            reported. 

            Myanmar Foreign Minister U Ohn Gyaw
            and visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime
            Minister and Foreign Minister Nguyen
            Manh Cam jointly chaired the meeting. 

            The meeting discussed matters relating to
            the two countries' ties and cooperation, it
            said. 

            The Myanmar-Vietnam JCBC was
            established in May 1994 when former
            Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet
            visited Myanmar. 

            The first JCBC meeting, held in Hanoi
            during Myanmar leader Senior General
            Than Shwe's return visit in March 1995,
            agreed on mutual cooperation in drug
            abuse control and forestry. 

            The second JCBC meeting, which took
            place in Hanoi during the Myanmar foreign
            minister's visit in January 1997, further
            discussed measures to promote
            multi-sided cooperation, particularly in
            trade, agriculture and forestry. 

            In recent years, relations between
            Myanmar and Vietnam have continued to
            develop with exchange of visits by leaders
            of the two countries. 

            In May last year, the then Vietnamese
            Party General Secretary Du Muoi visited
            Myanmar and the two countries' ties were
            further strengthened. 

            The visit to Myanmar by Vice-Minister of
            National Defense of Vietnam and Chief of
            the General Staff of Vietnam People's
            Army Lieutenant-General Pham Van Tra in
            June last year and one to Vietnam by
            Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the
            Myanmar Defense Services General
            Maung Aye in May this year also boosted
            cooperation between the two countries
            and the two armed forces.