Myanmar Monitor Weekly
Politics
Myanmar urged to follow shake-up of jade industry with more action on transparency
The government announced late 27 July that it will not renew mining permits for jade and other gemstones and that no new permits will be granted until a reformed legal framework is in place. Myanmar’s decision to shake up its multi-billion dollar jade business is a ground-breaking opportunity to stop human rights abuses and increase transparency, said activist group Global Witness.
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Suu Kyi to Meet Wa and Mongla Armed Group Leaders
As the head of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center (NRPC) and the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has recently met with leaders of both signatory and non-signatory groups to the country’s 2015 nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). Suu Kyi will meet leaders of the Wa and Mongla non-state armed groups in Naypyidaw on 29 July to discuss their participation in the Union Peace Conference, slated for late August.
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Economy
Emirates to touch down in Myanmar next month
Dubai-based airline Emirates will soon be touching down in Myanmar for the first time, with an inaugural flight from Dubai to Yangon International Airport scheduled for 3 August. The new daily set route, capable of transporting a total of 354 passengers per flight, will fly directly from Dubai to Yangon, continuing on to Hanoi, Vietnam. Flights to Yangon are already overbooked for August, showing promise for the vitality of the new route.
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Foreign Affairs
Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Washington in September
The White House says Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi received a letter last week from UM President Barack Obama inviting Suu Kyi to visit Washington in mid-September. Obama has visited Myanmar twice as president and has met with Suu Kyi at her home there.
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Aung San Suu Kyi praised after first ASEAN meet
Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi emerged from her first ASEAN ministerial meeting without a scratch on her international reputation, according to analysts, who praised the leader’s diplomacy. The ASEAN foreign ministers were confronted with providing a response to China’s claims to territory in the South China Sea, and a recent ruling by an arbitral tribunal in The Hague in favour of the Philippines. After hours behind closed doors, the ASEAN foreign ministers eventually produce a joint communiqué on 25 July, which briefly addressed the dispute, noting that “some ministers” had expressed concern over the “escalation of activities in the area”.
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China ready to be reliable cooperation partner with Myanmar: FM
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is willing to be the most ideal and reliable partner for cooperation with Myanmar, when meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi on 24 July on the side-lines of ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Vientiane. China is ready to strengthen high-level exchanges, advance pragmatic cooperation, and boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges with Myanmar so as to inject new dynamism to their bilateral ties in the new era, said the Chinese top diplomat.
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France to provide €200m aid to Myanmar over two years
The French Development Agency (FDA) plans to provide over €200 million to Myanmar over the next two years, according to state media quoting H.E Mr. Olivier Richard, the French ambassador to Myanmar. The FDA has been granting loans to assist economic development in rural development projects in Yangon as well as the development of energy and health sectors. France also contributes a major portion of monetary assistance for the project that combats HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB through the Global Fund.
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