U Lwin Oo, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar received Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General of BIMSTEC, who is now in Nay Pyi Taw for his introductory visit to Myanmar at 11:00 hrs on 23 July 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

During the call, they cordially discussed and exchanged views on matters related to BIMSTEC cooperation mechanisms. Their discussions also focused on the importance of food security in the region. Furthermore, they deliberated on the works of BIMSTEC EPG on the future directions of BIMSTEC and the holding of core and sectoral BIMSTEC meetings regularly. The Deputy Minister highlighted that BIMSTEC Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is designated as the BIMSTEC National Focal Point of Myanmar and coordinating with all relevant Ministries of Myanmar to expedite cooperation with BIMSTEC.

 

In the evening of 23 July 2024, U Lwin Oo, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs hosted a welcome dinner in honor of the Secretary General of BIMSTEC and his delegation at the MGallery Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey of India assumed his duties as the 4th Secretary General of BIMSTEC since January 2024. It is learned that the Secretary General had earlier paid introductory visits to other BIMSTEC Member States.

 

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization established in 1997 and it comprises seven Member States namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

 

The main aim of BIMSTEC is to promote economic cooperation among the Member States of the Bay of Bengal region. Out of the current seven Sectors of BIMSTEC Cooperation, Myanmar is serving as the Lead Country for BIMSTEC “Agriculture and Food Security Sector”.

U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs together with U Htun Ohn, Union Minister for Commerce attended the Welcome Dinner of the 8th China-South Asia Expo and the 28th China Kunming Export & Import Fair hosted by Mr. Wang Yubo, Deputy Secretary of the Chinese People Congress – CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and Governor of Yunnan Province of the People’s Republic of China which was held in the evening of 22 July 2024 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kunming. The dinner was also attended by the delegates from the countries in the South Asia region.

 

Afterwards, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs received the Chinese delegation led by Mrs. Sun Haiyan, Deputy Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party. During the meeting, both sides cordially exchanged views on matters pertaining to further promotion of the existing friendship and bilateral cooperation between Myanmar and China, China’s continuous and constructive support towards Myanmar’s development endeavours, maintenance of peace and stability along the Myanmar-China border areas and enhancement of cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking and online scamming in border areas.

 

In the morning, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs paid a visit to the Myanmar Consulate-General Office in Kunming and met with officials from the consulate-general office and their family members.

 

In the afternoon, Myanmar delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs also made a tour to the Yunnan Nongken Coffee Co. Ltd of the Agricultural Reclamation Group and observed the development of local coffee production sector in Yunnan Province and also explored the different types of coffee.

U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, received H.E. Dr. Md. Monwar Hossain, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, at 1000 hrs on 17 July 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the call, they cordially exchanged views on matters pertaining to the further consolidation of existing friendly ties and expansion of cooperation in various fields of mutual interest including trade and investment, tourism and people-to-people exchanges between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, received Mr. Dragan Aleksoski, Chief of Mission of International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Myanmar, who is leaving upon completion of his tour of duty in Myanmar at 1400 hours on 16 July 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the farewell call, they exchanged views on the progress of IOM’s current activities in Myanmar and the cooperation between the two sides.

 

Also present at the call were the senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

U Than Swe, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, received H.E. Mr. Abhay Thakur, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar at 1230 hrs on 16 July 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the call, they cordially exchanged views on matters pertaining to the further enhancement of existing friendship as well as mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, and strengthening closer collaboration for the maintenance of peace, stability and law and order along the border between Myanmar and India.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe, who is now in New Delhi to attend the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat which was held from 11-12 July 2024, paid a Joint Courtesy Call on Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India together with other BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers at 10:45 am Indian Standard Time on 12 July 2024 at the official residence of the Prime Minister in New Delhi.

 

Likewise, the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe separately met Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand at 12:00 noon, Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India at 6:15 pm and Dr. Mohammad Hasan Mahmud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh at 6:30 pm Indian Standard Time on 11 July 2024 at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

 

At the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, both sides cordially exchanged views on further strengthening of the existing friendly relations between Myanmar and Thailand, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation and collaborating more closely under the frameworks of BIMSTEC and Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC).

 

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe appreciated Thailand’s cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking and arms trade, human trafficking and online scamming.

 

During the meeting with Minister of External Affairs of India, 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 of Myanmar. Likewise, their discussions focused on connectivity projects and further enhancing cooperation between Myanmar and India for the stability along the border areas.

 

At the meeting with Bangladeshi counterpart, their discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of trade and people to people contacts. Furthermore, they exchanged views on ways and means to collaborate between the Chambers of Commerce of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The two Ministers also discussed cooperating more closely in BIMSTEC.

 

The Myanmar Ambassador to India U Moe Kyaw Aung, Director General of the International Organizations and Economic Department U Kyaw Nyun Oo and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also present at the Meetings.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received Mr. Li Fu Quan, Founding President of the China-Myanmar Economic Cooperation and Development Promotion Association at 1500 hrs on 12 July 2024 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nay Pyi Taw.

 

During the meeting, they cordially discussed and exchanged views on matters related to the enhancement of bilateral relations and economic cooperation between Myanmar and China based on the existing “Pauk-Phaw” friendship between the two countries.

 

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Li Fu Quan presented the signboard that describes “May the relations between Myanmar and China be long lasting” to the Permanent Secretary.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe, who is now in New Delhi to attend the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, participated in the “Myanmar-India-Thailand Trilateral Meeting” which was held at 05:30 pm Indian Standard Time on 11 July 2024 at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

 

Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India and Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand also attended the “Myanmar-India-Thailand Trilateral Meeting”.

 

At the “Myanmar-India-Thailand Trilateral Meeting”, the Ministers cordially exchanged views on further strengthening of the existing friendly relations, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas including trade and investment and cooperating more closely in BIMSTEC and international fora.

 

Furthermore, their discussions focused on connectivity projects including developments in the implementation of Myanmar-India-Thailand Trilateral Highway, further enhancing cooperation among Myanmar, India and Thailand for the stability along the border areas and providing humanitarian assistance.

 

Likewise, the Ministers exchanged views on further enhancing cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking and arms trade, human trafficking and online scamming.

 

During the “Trilateral Meeting”, 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 of Myanmar.

The Myanmar Ambassador to India U Moe Kyaw Aung and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also present at the Trilateral Meeting.

At the official invitation of Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe participated in the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat which was held on 11 July 2024 in New Delhi, India.

 

The Heads of Delegation of the BIMSTEC Member States, Dr. Mohammad Hasan Mahmud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Mr. D. N. Dhungyel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Bhutan, Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, Ms. Sewa Lamsal, Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Mr. Tharaka Balasuriya, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary-General of BIMSTEC were present at the Retreat.

 

During the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, the Foreign Ministers cordially discussed and exchanged views on matters related to BIMSTEC Cooperation mechanisms as well as regional and global issues.

 

Their discussions focused on strengthening connectivity among the BIMSTEC Member States, cooperation in trade and business, health, capacity building and collaboration in digital public infrastructure (DPI) including cross-border digital payment systems. The Foreign Ministers also highlighted the importance of Food and Energy Security at the Retreat. Furthermore, they deliberated on the works of the BIMSTEC Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on the Future Directions of BIMSTEC and holding of the BIMSTEC Ministerial Meetings.

 

During the Retreat, the Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs also updated 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 of BIMSTEC Member States. In his discussion, he encouraged other Member States to further enhance cooperation in combating illegal drug trafficking and arms trade, human trafficking and online scamming.

 

In the evening of 11 July 2024, the Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar hosted a Dinner in honor of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and delegations of BIMSTEC Member States to the 2nd BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers’ Retreat at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

 

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization established in 1997 and it comprises seven Member States namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The main aim of BIMSTEC is to promote economic cooperation among the Member States of the Bay of Bengal region. Out of current seven Sectors of BIMSTEC Cooperation, Myanmar is serving as the Lead Country in “Agriculture and Food Security Sector”.