Negotiations with Prime Minister of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing

The meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Chairman of the State Administrative Council, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing took place at the Palace of Independence in Minsk on 7 March.

The talks started with an official welcoming ceremony.

The talks were held one-on-one and with the participation of delegations. The two leaders discussed cooperation in trade, economy and humanitarian affairs and thrashed out plans for the future. In particular, they discussed collaboration in industry, agriculture, pharmaceutics and science.

“I am happy to meet you here. You visited us a long time ago [Min Aung Hlaing visited Belarus in November 2014 as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces and held a meeting with Aleksandr Lukashenko]. Unfortunately, I haven’t got the chance to visit your beautiful country yet. But I know the history of Myanmar very well. Our people are very hardworking. This is what the two peoples’ have in common. Your country has much more opportunities for development and prosperity. You are practically located on the shore of the Indian Ocean, and this is a very big advantage,” the Belarusian head of state said during the one-on-one meeting.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, the parties agreed on many things during Min Aung Hlaing's previous visit to Belarus. Time, however, is running fast and there have been tremendous changes in the world recently, the head of state added. “I must say that along with negative trends in the form of conflicts and wars taking place across the globe, we still enjoy a positive momentum in the relations between our countries - Belarus and Myanmar,” the Belarusian leader said.

“Analyzing the dynamics of our cooperation, I come to the conclusion that we have built the foundation of our future relations and today we need to move forward, make progress. No topics are off limits in the relations between Belarus and Myanmar,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state suggested that the parties define a number of fundamental joint projects to enhance bilateral cooperation: “Let it not be many projects to begin with. But these should be large-scale, fundamental projects that will cover various areas of cooperation.”

“We have a big interest in Myanmar. You have much of what we may need. I think we will be useful to you as well. I suggest you study Belarus in detail, including its industry, agriculture, logistics. If you see something useful for you, be sure that we are always ready to support you and help you attain your goals,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

First of all, the distinguished guest thanked for the invitation to visit Belarus and hold highest-level talks. He noted that although the distance between the countries is very long, the countries maintain diplomatic relations, military-technical cooperation, which makes it possible to strengthen friendly relations.

Min Aung Hlaing emphasized that the purpose of his visit is to bring bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level through multi-sectoral cooperation. “There is great interest and desire on Myanmar's part to improve economic relations. Therefore, we are ready to discuss a strategic plan of action to expand our cooperation,” he said.

The Myanmar leader suggested a number of specific areas that carry a great potential for the development of joint activities. First of all, it is agriculture and mechanical engineering.

Since agriculture is the main sector of Myanmar's economy, the country is interested in Belarusian technologies in agricultural industry and mechanical engineering and in purchasing various fertilizers.