The commemorative group photo was taken before the opening of Ceremony and the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe took part in the event together with the Heads of Delegation from the participating countries.

 

The Swearing-in Ceremony was attended by Heads of States, Heads of Government, Speakers of Parliament and Members of Parliament, Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Special Envoys from more than (80) countries.

 

As per the Programme, Mr. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of Iran delivered Welcome Remarks at the Ceremony, followed by the Speech delivered by the Mr. Mohseni EJEI, Chief Justice of Iran.

 

Afterwards, the new President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian, took an oath and delivered an address. The Swearing-in Ceremony was concluded after the Closing Speech by Mr. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of Iran.

 

In the evening of 30 July 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe, together with Heads of Delegation from other countries, attended a State Banquet hosted by the President of Iran Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian in honour of visiting Delegations.

 

While in Iran, the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs appraised the Myanmar Government’s efforts to ensure peace, development and democracy in the country and the latest developments taking place in Myanmar to the Heads of Delegation.

 

The officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar were also present at the Swearing-in Ceremony held in Tehran together with the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe.

 

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran arranged a visit to the “National Museum of Iran” and “Museum of Islamic Archaeology and Art of Iran” in Tehran to the dignitaries and Delegations of the participating countries.

 

Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian, the new President of the Islamic Republic of Iran was born in 1954. He is a cardiac surgeon. He had earlier served as Deputy Minister for Health in 1997, Minister for Health from 2001 to 2005 and the First Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Parliament of Iran from 2016 to 2020 respectively.

Myanmar Delegation led by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar participated the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) with the United States and the 31st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) which were held in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 27 July 2024.

 

ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Foreign Ministers of Dialogue Partners, Senior Officials and ASEAN Secretary-General attended the said Meetings, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Timor-Leste also participated as an observer.

 

The Meetings discussed and reviewed the progress of cooperation between ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three Countries as well as East Asia Countries and also exchanged views on peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region as well as regional and international issues.

 

Also present at the ASEAN Meetings were Permanent Representative of Myanmar to ASEAN, Myanmar Ambassador to Lao People’s Democratic and Senior Officials from ASEAN Affairs Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.

Myanmar Delegation led by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar participated the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) 10+1 Sessions with Dialogue Partners (Australia, China, Canada, India, European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, United Kingdom) which were separately held in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 26 July 2024.

 

ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Foreign Ministers of Dialogue Partners, Senior Officials and ASEAN Secretary-General attended the said Meetings, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Timor-Leste also participated as an observer.

 

The Meetings discussed and reviewed the progress of cooperation between ASEAN and Dialogue Partners as well as exchanged views on regional and international issues.

 

As a country-coordinator of the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, Myanmar Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, co-chaired with His Excellency Mr. Wang Yi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China at the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference with China which held on 26 July 2024 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

 

Also present at the ASEAN Meetings were Permanent Representative of Myanmar to ASEAN, Myanmar Ambassador to Lao People’s Democratic and Senior Officials from ASEAN Affairs Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.

 

Myanmar Delegation led by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also attended the 15th Mekong- Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and 12th Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting which was held back to back with the PMC plus one with Dialogue Partners.

U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar H.E. Mr. Iskander Azizov at 1345 hrs on 26 July 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the meeting, they cordially exchanged views on matters pertaining to the further enhancement of the friendly bilateral relations and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries including the promotion of cooperation in science and technology, customs matters, trade, economic, investment, education and culture sectors, as well as closer collaboration in regional and multilateral contexts.

Myanmar Delegation led by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar attended the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (Plenary Session) and ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat which was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 25 July 2024.

 

ASEAN Foreign Ministers, ASEAN Senior Officials and ASEAN Secretary-General attended the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meeting and related meetings, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Timor-Leste also participated as an observer.

 

The ASEAN Meetings discussed and exchanged views on the matters pertaining to the Lao PDR’s priorities and Key deliverables in 2024 in the capacity of the current Chair of ASEAN, progress of the drafting of the ASEAN Community 2045 Vision, applications by other States to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), preparations for the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits, strengthening of the external relations of ASEAN as well as regional and international issues.

 

During the Plenary Session, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Lao PDR’s priorities and key deliverables in 2024 and also reiterated the Myanmar’s commitment to keep cooperating with other ASEAN Member States as a member of ASEAN. At the Retreat Session, he appraised the Myanmar Government’s endeavours to ensure peace, stabilities and democracy in the country, progress of the implementation of the ASEAN five point consensus in conjunction with the Five Points Road Map of the State Administration Council as well as the latest developments in Myanmar to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers.

 

Also present at the ASEAN Meetings were Permanent Representative of Myanmar to ASEAN, Myanmar Ambassador to Lao People’s Democratic and Senior Officials from the ASEAN Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.

During the visit to Kunming, the Myanmar delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs together with Union Minister for Commerce held a bilateral talk with Chinese delegation led by Mr. Ding Zongli, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China at 1100 hrs on 23 July 2024 at the meeting room of the Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Center.

 

During the talk, they focused on further promotion of the existing friendship and bilateral cooperation between Myanmar and China, development opportunities and shared future between the two countries, exchange of high-level official visits of the Myanmar and China, acceleration of bilateral cooperation projects, China’s continuous and constructive support towards Myanmar’s development endeavours, maintenance of peace and stability along the Myanmar-China border areas, enhancement of cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking and online scamming in border areas, normalization of border trade between the two countries.

 

In the evening, the Myanmar delegation held talks with Yunnan delegation led by Mr. Wang Yubo, Deputy Secretary of Chinese People’s Congress – CPC, Yunnan Provincial Committee and the Governor of Yunnan Province of the People’s Republic of China at 1700 hrs at the Haigeng Garden Hotel. During the meeting, they exchanged views on further promotion of cooperation between Myanmar and Yunnan province. Afterwards, Mr. Wang Yubo hosted a dinner for the Myanmar delegation.

The Ministry of Commerce of China and the People’s Government of Yunnan Province jointly held opening ceremony of the 8th China-South Asia Expo and the 28th China Kunming Export & Import Fair at 0930 hrs on 23 July 2024 at the Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Center in Kunming.

 

At the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar delivered an opening speech together with Mr. Ding Zhongli, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress of China, Speaker of the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Deputy Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Majlis of the Republic of Maldives and Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly of Nepal.

 

In his speech, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs firstly congratulated the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the People’s Government of Yunnan Province for their initiatives to hold the annual Expo and Trade Fair successfully. He also mentioned that Myanmar is surrounded by five immediate neighbours, where over 3.2 billion people are residing and Myanmar’s strategic geographical location together with abundant natural resources and human resources provide the country’s potential to become a huge investment opportunities. He also highlighted the investment opportunities and encouraged business communities from China and South Asia countries to do more business with Myanmar.

 

This year Expo is being held from 23 to 28 July 2024 and it was attended by high-level government officials from 10 Southeast Asian countries and 8 South Asian countries. More than 800 booths from 2000 companies of 82 countries have been participating in the Expo.

 

During the occasion, Myanmar delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs together with the Union Minister for Commerce explored the International Pavilions which were showcased by 82 countries. The delegation visited Myanmar booths set up by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry – UMFCCI and Myanmar business communities. It is learnt that under the collaboration between the Ministry of Commerce and related business associations, over 88 representatives from Myanmar business communities including 37 representatives from UMFCCI led by their President U Aye Win have participated in the Expo by organizing 26 booths that display Myanmar products.

 

The China-South Asia Expo has been held since 2013 in Kunming, Yunnan Province with the purpose of further enhancing trade cooperation and fostering people-to-people exchanges between China and South Asian and Southeast Asian countries. The current expo is being held under the theme of “Solidarity and Coordination for Common Development”.

 

In the afternoon of 24 July 2024, Myanmar delegation led by U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs together with U Htun Ohn, Union Minister for Commerce of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar left Kunming Changshui International Airport for Myanmar. The delegation was welcomed at the Mandalay International Airport by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and Mr. Zhang Wei, acting Consul-General of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Mandalay at the Mandalay International Airport.

U Lwin Oo, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs received Ms. Elena Ajmone Sessera, Resident Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), at 11:00 hrs on 24 July 2024, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the meeting, they exchanged views on matters related to ICRC’s activities in Myanmar as well as provision of humanitarian assistance to the needy in Myanmar.

 

Also present at the meeting were the senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Jan Miskoc, Deputy Resident Representative of ICRC.