NEWS - Myanmar FM Leaves for ASEAN

[TheTruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

NOTE: I hope the Philipinne Burma group is ready and waiting for him. :)


  Myanmar FM Leaves for ASEAN Ministerial Meeting

            Xinhua
            22-JUL-98

            YANGON (July 22) XINHUA - Myanmar Foreign Minister U Ohn
Gyaw left here
            Wednesday for Manila, the Philippines, to attend the 31st
annual meeting of
            foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and
            its related meetings due to begin Friday. 

            Myanmar, along with Laos, was admitted into the fold of
ASEAN last July
            which also groups Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Malaysia, Singapore,
            Thailand and Vietnam. 

            The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), which follows the ASEAN
Standing
            Committee Meeting and Senior Officials Meeting in the
Philippine capital, is
            expected to focus on the ongoing regional financial crisis. 

            Earlier this month, senior finance officials of the ASEAN
met for the first time
            in Yangon and discussed the crisis prior to the AMM. 

            Since integration into the ASEAN, Myanmar has been working
closely with
            other ASEAN members, forming respective committees and
groups in all
            sectors and taking an active part in various meetings and
activities of the
            association. 

            Myanmar has also attended since then a series of regional
meetings relating
            to ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) scheme, investment,
agriculture,
            forestry, transportation, drug control, education, tourism,
environment,
            financial, labor and home affairs. 

            On these occasions, Myanmar joined in signing accords on
regional
            cooperation in finance and tourism as well as the setting-up
of a foundation. 

            Myanmar, together with Laos, is also receiving technical
assistance from the
            grouping at the Kuala Lumpur meeting of the AFTA Council in
October 1997,
            for the fulfillment of its obligations to the AFTA. 

            For the establishment of AFTA, Myanmar has presented its
commodities list
            for tariff reduction. 

            According to official statistics, investment in Myanmar from
other five ASEAN
            countries -- Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore
and Thailand --
            added up to more than 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in over 140
projects at the end
            of March this year, accounting for about 45 percent of the
7-billion-dollar
            total foreign investment.