Established 1914 Volume XIV, Number 246 14th Waning of ... · PDF fileWin, Lt-Gen Thiha Thura...

Established 1914

14th Waning of Nadaw 1368 ME Monday, 18 December, 2006Volume XIV, Number 246

Emergence of the State Constitution is the duty of all citizens of Myanmar Naing-Ngan.

Senior General Than Shwe and wifeDaw Kyaing Kyaing attend opening of

Diamond Jubilee of NationalKandawgyi Gardens in PyinOoLwin

NAY PYI TAW, 17Dec — Ceremonies tomark the Diamond Jubi-lee of the NationalKandawgyi Gardens of theMinistry of Forestry, openthe First Flower Festivaland the National Land-marks Garden were heldat the respective venues inPyinOoLwin on 15 De-cember morning, attendedby Chairman of the StatePeace and DevelopmentCouncil Commander-in-Chief of Defence ServicesSenior General ThanShwe and wife DawKyaing Kyaing.

Also present atthe opening ceremony ofthe National LandmarksGarden, were Member ofthe State Peace and De-velopment Council Gen-eral Thura Shwe Mann,members of SPDC Lt-Gen

Ye Myint, Lt-Gen KyawWin, Lt-Gen Thiha ThuraTin Aung Myint Oo, Lt-Gen Aung Htwe and Lt-Gen Tin Aye, Com-mander-in-Chief (Navy)Vice-Admiral Soe Thein,Commander-in-Chief(Air) Lt-Gen Myat Hein,Maj-Gen Myint Hlaing ofthe Ministry of Defence,Chairman of MandalayDivision Peace and De-velopment Council Com-mander of Central Com-mand Maj-Gen Khin Zaw,the ministers, senior mili-tary officers, the Manda-lay Mayor, military offic-ers of PyinOoLwin Sta-tion, the Director-Generalof the SPDC Office, de-partmental heads, depart-mental officials, teachers,

students, members of theUnion Solidarity and De-velopment Association,social organizations,dance troupes, local peo-ple and staff of the Minis-try of Forestry.

Daw Thida Sweof Myanma Radio and Tel-evision acted as MC.

C o m m a n d e rMaj-Gen Khin Zaw andMinister for Forestry Brig-Gen Thein Aung cut theribbon to open the Na-tional Landmarks Garden.

General ThuraShwe Mann unveiled thestone plaque of the gar-dens and sprinkledscented water on it to-gether with the com-mander and the minister.

(See page 8)Senior General Than Shwe and wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing enjoy songs and traditional dances

to mark opening ceremony of National Kandawgyi Gardens.— MNA

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM1

2 THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Monday, 18 December, 2006

Monday, 18 December, 2006

PERSPECTIVES* Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views* Oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the State and progress of the nation* Oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the State* Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy

People’s Desire

The government has been nurturing the

younger generation in order to develop hu-

man resources after opening the training

schools in various sectors. The purpose of

the training schools is to nurture and pro-

duce human resources needed in building a

peaceful modern developed nation.

It is important for the trainees to possess

morale, discipline and ability. Morale means

spirit of cherishing one’s nation and its

people and Union Spirit. That morale must

be imbued with patriotism with sacrificing

spirit. Every citizen is to love and cherish

their nation and the people and defend the

Union.

It is necessary for training schools to

ensure discipline enforcement. Only when

there is discipline, will the nation develop.

Besides morale and discipline, they need to

develop their ability. Only then will they be

able to build a strong nation. Our nation

can catch up with the developing world only

when the people are equipped with good

morale, discipline and ability.

As the training schools play an important

role in producing human resources, it is the

duty of the schools to nurture the trainees to

become patriots and persons of good disci-

pline possessing high efficiency.

Nurturing persons of goodmorale and discipline withhigh efficiency

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NAY PYI TAW, 16 Dec — Minister for Progressof Border Areas and National Races DevelopmentAffairs Mayor Col Thein Nyunt met with businessmenwho have applied for hiring shops of the shoppingcomplex being built in Nay Pyi Taw at Nay Pyi TawCity Hall yesterday morning, attended by DeputyMinister for Science and Technology and member ofSpecial Construction Group U Kyaw Soe and mem-bers, officials of Nay Pyi Taw Development Commit-tee, construction companies and entrepreneurs.

Chairman of Nay Pyi Taw Development Com-

mittee Mayor Col Thein Nyunt delivered an addressand heard reports on future tasks for building theshopping complex presented by the deputy ministerand officials.

Next, the minister and officials answered thequestions raised by those present.

Later, the minister and party looked intoprogress of construction works in Nay Pyi Taw in amotorcade and inspected the chosen site for the shop-ping complex.

MNA

PBANRDA Minister meets with businessmen in Nay Pyi Taw

YANGON, 16 Dec— The 4th ASEAN SeniorOfficials Meeting on Social Welfare and Developmentand the 3rd ASEAN+3 Senior Officials Meeting onSocial Welfare and Development took place at SedonaHotel in Mandalay yesterday, attended by senior offi-cials of ASEAN countries, Japan and the People’sRepublic of China.

At the 3rd ASEAN plus Three senior officialsmeeting, those present discussed social welfare pro-gramme for children, women, disabled persons and theaged and they agreed to hold the 5th Senior Officials

Meeting of ASEAN plus Three Social Welfare andDevelopment in the Philippines.

After the meeting, senior officials and repre-sentatives of ASEAN member countries visited MyaNan San Kyaw Golden Palace, Kuthodaw Pagoda andgold embroidery works.

In the evening, Minister for Social Welfare,Relief and Resettlement Maj-Gen Maung Maung Swehosted a dinner to mark the successful completion ofthe meeting.

MNA

3rd ASEAN+3 Senior Official Meeting on SocialWelfare and Development meetings concludes

Banks Supervisory Committee and Executive Committee ofMyanmar Banks Association meet

NAY PYI TAW, 16Dec—The 85th meetingof the Banks SupervisoryCommittee of the Minis-try of Finance and Rev-enue and the ExecutiveCommittee of MyanmarBanks Association tookplace at the meeting hallof the ministry here thismorning with an addressby Patron of the BanksSupervisory CommitteeMinister for Finance andRevenue Maj-Gen HlaTun.

Present on the oc-casion were Chairman ofthe Supervisory Commit-tee Deputy Minister forFinance and Revenue ColHla Thein Swe, Gover-nor of the Central Bankof Myanmar U KyawKyaw Maung, directors-general and managing di-rectors of departmentsand enterprises under theministry, chairmen ofState-owned banks andprivate banks, managing

directors and executivesand others.

In his address,Patron of the Banks Su-pervisory CommitteeMinister for Finance andRevenue Maj-Gen HlaTun said that all the banksare to make concerted ef-forts for development ofbanking based on previ-ous experiences, and tostrictly abide by law, by-

law, rules and regulationsand instructions pre-scribed; that it is requiredto study information athome and abroad and sub-jects concerned after es-tablishing the researchand development section;and to follow orders, in-structions and procedureson control of money laun-dering.

Next, Chairman

of the Banks SupervisoryCommittee Deputy Min-ister for Finance and Rev-enue Col Hla Thein Sweand Governor of the Cen-tral Bank of Myanmar UKyaw Kyaw Maungspoke.

After that, offi-cials of Myanmar BanksAssociation dealt with thediscussions.

MNA

F&R Minister Maj-Gen Hla Tun makes speech at 85th Meeting of BanksSupervisory Committee and Myanmar Banks Association. — F & R

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM2

THE NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR Monday, 18 December, 2006 3

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Chinese Premier WenJiabao (3rd R), Ma Kai(2nd L), Chineseminister in charge ofthe State Developmentand Reform Commis-sion, Indian Minister ofPetroleum and NaturalGas Murli Deora (1stL), Japanese Economy,Trade and IndustryMinister Amari Akira(1st R), South KoreanMinister of Commerce,Industry and EnergyChung Sye Kyun (3rdL) andUS Secretary ofEnergy Samuel WBodman (2nd R) posefor a photo during theirmeeting in Beijing, on16 Dec, 2006. Anenergy ministers’ meet-ing of the five countrieswas convened inBeijing on Saturday. XINHUA

South Korean protesters shout slogans during an anti-war rally in Seoul, onSaturday, 16 Dec, 2006. The National Defence Committee of the NationalAssembly approved a bill on 13 Dec, to cut the number of Korean troops stationedin Iraq in half and extend their deployment by another year. The letters on theplacards read ‘Withdraw the Zaytun unit from Iraq and oppose to dispatch of South Korean troops to Lebanon.’—INTERNET

China mulls new policyto encourage foreigninvestment in R&D

Iraq aid agency ‘attacked’ by US

Two US Marines killedin western Iraq

BAGHDAD, 16 Dec —Two American Marines werekilled on Thursday in a combat in Iraq's westernprovince of al-Anbar, the US military said in a statementon Friday.

One Marine assigned to Regiment Combat Team5 and one Marine assigned to Regiment CombatTeam 7 died Thursday from wounds sustained dueto enemy action while operating in the volatileprovince, it said.—MNA/Xinhua

Over 27,000 young foreignersstudy in Cuba

BEIJING, 16 Dec — China will encourage more foreign enterprises to set upresearch and development (R&D) institutes in China, Sun Peng, deputydirector of the foreign investment department of the Chinese Ministry ofCommerce said here on Thursday.

The organization'svice-president said at-tacks by US-led forceswere the biggest problemit faced.

The Red Crescent, whichhas a staff of 1,000 and200,000 volunteers, is theonly Iraqi aid groupworking across the

country’s 18 provinces.The US military said

it was checking theallegations.

Jamal al-Karbouli,Vice-President of the IraqiRed Crescent, said thelatest incident occurred lastweek in the central city ofFalluja.

“We had our officesattacked by Americanforces. They detained thevolunteers and staff formore than two hours,” MrKarbouli said.

He added that two RedCrescent cars had beenburned.

Mr Karbouli was

speaking at a meeting ofinternational Red Crossorganizations in Geneva.

He went on to give otherexamples of alleged USharassment, includingattacks on the organiza-tion’s headquarters inBaghdad over the past threeyears. —Internet

HAVANA, 16 Dec —About 27,400 youngforeigners are carryingout professional studiesin Cuba, Higher Edu-cation Ministry (HEM)said on Thursday.

Raul Hernandez,official responsiblefor HEM's departmentfor international co-operation, said thatmore than 47,000foreign students havegraduated from Cubanuniversities since 1961,local Press reported.

Cuba’s educationcooperation with othernations involves morethan university studies.More than 10 countriesuse Cuba’s literacycourse “I Can Do It”to teach Spanish,Hernandez said du-ring an internationalworkshop on the 30thanniversary of GranmaUniversity, 747 kilo-

metres east of Havana. Alumni of Granma

University from Spain,Germany, Mexico andEcuador attended the

celebration to comme-morate the founding ofthe university in Dece-mber 1976.

MNA/Xinhua

“We will encouragemultinationals to set upresearch and developmentinstitutes in China andattract more foreigninvestment into the sector,”said Sun.

Sun told theInternational Forum onGlobalization of R&D, thatthe Ministry of Commerceis now drawing up a set ofregulation on foreign-funded research institutes.The regulations will bebased on a wide-ranginginvestigation of existingR&D departments launch-ed by multinationals inChina.

“The regulations willsolve problems of foreign-invested research in-stitutes, such as importingraw material, Customsdeclaration and recruit-ment,” he added.

According to Sun,

China will revise its list ofhi-tech products in whichforeign investment will beencouraged.

“We will providefavourable policies toencourage and supportforeign-invested com-panies to conduct researchon the products listed,” Sunsaid.

Sun noted that directforeign investment hasturned to high-endmanufacturing and re-search and developmentsectors in recent years,bringing new oppor-tunities for developingcountries to speed up theirindustrial upgrading.

MNA/Xinhua

BAGHDAD, 17 Dec — The Iraqi Red Crescent, the country's biggest humanitarian organization, hasaccused United States troops of attacking its offices and vehicles.

Deaf performers from the China Disabled Peoples’Performing Arts Troupe chat before performing“Thousand Hands Guan Yin” during an eveningshow “My Dreams” at Shanghai Grand Stage inShanghai on 16 Dec, 2006. The China Disabled

Peoples’ Performing Arts Troupe was founded inChina in 1987.—INTERNET

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM3


Myanmar and UN Agencies are jointly implementing programsand projects under the respective cooperation programs

We cannot accept those who use UN to do activities that willinfringe our sovereignty and harmful to our union solidarity

NAY PYI TAW, 17 Dec –The following is theclarification made byMinister for NationalPlanning and EconomicDevelopment U Soe Thaat the press comferenceheld today.

The main topic Iwould like to highlight inthis Press Conference isMyanmar’s EconomicDevelopment. The topicsinclude Myanmar’sprogress status of theMillennium DevelopmentGoals and cooperationbetween Myanmar and theUN Organizations andInternational Non-governmental Organi-zations ( INGOs ).

Today’s pressconference will be in 2parts. Ministry of NatioanlPlanning and EconomicDevelopment will take thefirst part and Ministry ofLabour, the second part.

Firstly, I would liketo brief you Myanmar’sEconomic Deve-lopment. We havedistributed the paper onMyanmar’s EconomicDevelopment and basedon that, I will explainwith power point.

It is well knownthat the growth or declineof an economy ispresented in terms of GDP.We will do so in today’spresentations.

An internatioanlaccepted practice, andeconomy could beseparated into three maincategories, namelyagriculture, industry andservices. These three maincategories can besubdivided into a numberof economic sectors tocover the whole economy.

In our case, there are14 sectors namelyAgriculture, Livestock andFishery, Forestry, Energy,Mining, Industry, ElectricPower, Construction,Transport, Communi-cation, Financial, Social

and Management, Rentaland other Services andTrade.

Our presentation isbasically how much wehave achieved in ournational development planin various sectors and ourcurrent socio-economicsituation in our nationaldevelopment endeavours.Myanmar’s EconomicDevelopment

After regainingindependence in 1948, thehistory of economy maybe divided into threeperiods. The first periodfrom 1948 to 1962 wasthe period of marketeconomy.

The second periodfrom 1962 to 1988 wasthe period of centrallyplanned economy basedon socialist economicsystem. The third periodfrom 1988 to present ismarket oriented economy.Economic Situationduring the period 1985/86 to 1988/89

During the period 86/87 to 88/89 GrossDomestic Product ( GDP)declined by 15.8 per cent.The deterioration of theeconomy affected thepolitical stability whichled to the change ofgrovernment.

The economicsystem was also changedfrom socialist economicsystem to a market-oriented one in late 1988.Economic Situationduring the period 1989/90 (StabilizationProgrammes periods)

The governmenthas placed emphasis onstabilization andconsolidation of thecountry and consequently,during the three yearperiod from 89/90 to 91/92, stabilization pro-grammes wereformulated to revitalizethe economy.

The economy beganto restore, registering a

growth rate of 5.9 per centor an increase of 1.1 timesduring the three yearperiod.Economic Situationduring the Short TermFour-Year Plan (1992/93 to 1995/96)

As the stability hasbeen restored, short-termplans had beenformulated since 92/93with a view toaccelerating theeconomic development.Short Term Four-YearPlan spanning 92/93 to95/96 was formulatedwith target averageannual growth rate of 5.1per cent.

The economyachieved with an averageannual growth rate of 7.5per cent.

The economy ex-panded 1.3 times and percapita income rose fromK 4,496 to K 13,515.

The Short Term Four-Year Plan wassuccessfully implement-ed, creating a favourableeconomic foundation forfurther development.Economic Situationduring the Second ShortTerm Five-Year Plan(1996/97 to 2000/2001)

With an aimtowards a stable andsustainable growth byconsolidating thefavourable economicfoundation achieved, theSecond Short Term Five-Year Plan ( 96/97 to 2000/2001) was formulatedwith target an averageannual growth rate of 6per cent.

The Five-YearPlan was successfullyimplemented, achieveingaverage annual growthrate of 8.5 per cent, anincrease of 1.5 times whilethat of per capita incomeincreased to K 50,927 in2000/2001 from K 13,515in 95/96.

Agriculture sectorrealized average annual

growth rate of 7.3 per cent,Industry sector 11.4 percent and Services sector8.5 per cent.Economic Situationduring the Third Short-Term Five-Year Plan(2001/2002 to 2005/2006)

After completionof the Second Plan, theThird Short Term Plan wasfromulated.

GDP for this Five-Year Plan ( 2001/02-2005/06) was targeted with anaverage annual growth rateof 11.3 per cent. Theperformance achievedduring the plan period was12.8 per cent, an increaseof 1.83 times. Per capitaincome was K 50,927in the base year andK 221,217 in the final year2005/06.

Average annualgrowth rates in agriculturesector increased 9.8 percent, industry sector 23.5per cent and servicessector 13.9 per cent. Agriculture Sector

Agriculture sector, themainstay of Myanmar’seconomy, contributes 40.2per cent in the nationaleconomy.

For the developmentof agriculture sector,emphasis had been placedon ensuring self-sufficiency and surplus forexport.

With an aim toexpand cultivable land ,

private entrepreneurs andcompanies are allowed toreclaim vacant and fallowland, virgin land and wetland.

The net area sownincreased to 29.3 millionacres in 2005/2006 from19.9 million acres in88.89 showing anincrease by 1.5 times.Mixed and multiplecropping area increasedto 16.8 million acres in2006/2006 from 3.9million acres in 88/89 by4.3 times, Thus total sownarea increased to 46.1million acres from 23.8million acres by 1.9 timesresulting in increasedcropping intensity to157.3 per cent from 119.6per cent.

Out of the totalcultivable land of 43million acres, the net areasown was 26.9 millionacres or 62.6 percent .

It is only 16.1 per centof total land area. Thusthere is a vast potentialfor further developmentof agriculture sector.

Irrigated areaincreased to 5.52 millionacres from 2.52 millionacres in 88/89 of anincrease by 2.2 times.Crop Production

As the sownacreage increase duringthe period, production ofprincipal crops alsoincreased. Production of

paddy increased by 2.1times, beans and pluses11 times, edible oil crops3.3 times, cotton 3.9 times,sugarcane 3.3 times andkitchen crops 4.7 times.

As concertedefforts are being made forthe development of theagriculture sector withadded momentum,agriculture sectorincreased by averageannual growth rates of7.3%, 6.3% and 8.5%during the first, second andthird short-term plansrespectively.Livestock and FisherySector

The average annualgrowth rates of livestockand fishery sector were4.6%, 12.7% and 17.2%respectively in the first,second and third shortterm plans.

Production of meet,high and prown alsoincreased to 4.9 and 3.8times respectively.Forestry Sector

About 52 per cent ofMyanmar’s land acrea iscovered with forests.Reserved forests areaincreased from 14.9 percent in 88-89 to 23.2 percent in 2005/06 or 1.6times.

Number of acres andtrees planted increased by2.7 times in both cases.

The average annual(See page 5)

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM4


Myanmar and UN Agencies are jointly…(from page 4)

growth rates of forestry sector were (5.4%), 3.2% and3.6% respectively in first, second and third Plans. Itcan be noticed that as environment needs of be preservedand maintained, we have kept the average growth raterelatively low, around 3% in all three short-term plans.Energy Sector

Concerted efforts are being made to producemore crude oil and natural gas to meet the domesticrequirement and to export. Currently 13 internationaloil companies are operating 33 projects in on-shoreand off-shore areas. The production of natural gas hasincreased significantly to 402,898 million cubic feet in2005/06 from 39,085 million cubic feet in 88/89 or10.3 times.

The average annual growth rates of Energysector were (-) 0.4%, 27.27% and 13.9% in the First,Second and Third Short-Term Plans respectively.Mining Sector

Mining sector contributes 0.4% in our economy.We are producing Refined copper and Pig iron morethan 5 times than before and we have achieved 21.2%,20.9% and 15.1% averge annual growth rates in theFirst, Second and Third short-term plans.

In selected production of mining sector suchas Gold and Pig iron increased by 23.1%, 5.1%respectively. The production of Refined copper in 88/89 was almost negligible, but it reached nearly 30,000tons in 2005/06.Processing and Manufacturing Sector

The share of processing and manufacturingsector constitutes 15.4 per cent of the total GDP.

In order to promote the development ofindustries, industrial zones have been established acrossthe country since 95/96 and as of 2005/06 (End ofMarch), altogether 18 industrial zones have beenestablished in 9 states and divisions operating with atotal numbers of 9,849 factories and mills.

The total number of factories increased to81,176 in September 2006 from 28,847 in 1988,showing an increase of 51,747 during 18 years.

The registered average annual growth rates of9.1%, 10.4% and 23.8% in the three plans reveal theaccelerated development being taken place in thissector.Electric Power Sector

Endeavours have been made to increase powersupply.

The installed capacity was 685 megawatts in1988 while the installed capacity at end March 2006 is1,701 megawatts, an increase by 2.5 times. Powerconsumption increased by 3.7 times. The averageannual growth rates achieved in the three plans were16.2%, 10.6% and 10.6% respectively.Infrastructure Development during the period 1988to 2006 (end of September)

As infrastructure is not only crucial foreconomic development but also important forestablishing friendship and solidarity among ournationalities, necessary infrastructure developmentworks are being undertaken to promote developmentin every region of the State. Hence, the government hasaccorded high priority to infrastructure developmentprojects such as irrigation network, roads, bridges,railway lines, port facilities, air ports, power andcommunication facilities.Dams and Reservoirs

As regards irrigation networks, total numberof dams and reservoirs stand at 644 as of September2006, showing an increase of 189 dams and reservoirsfrom 475 numbers in 1988.Electric Power

From 1988 to 2006 altogether 27 hydroelectric

plants have been constructed and another 16 majorhydroelectric plants are under construction. Thealready-built hydroelectric plants are being installedwith the capacity of 746 megawatts and after thecompletion of 16 carry on projects inclusive ofShwekyin, Khapaung, Phyuchang, Kun, Yeywa andYenwe, 10,413 megawatts will be installed. At thesame time 10 gas power plants were installed with thecapacity of 561 megawatts.

During the period, the installed capacityincreased to 1,701 megawatts as at end September2006 from 685 megawatts in 1988, showing 2.5 times.Power generation increased to 6,015 million kilowatthours in 2005/06 (end of March) from 2,226 or 2.7times of 1988 level.

Power transmission and distribution linesextended to 20,662 miles as at end September 2006from 10,733 miles in 1988 showing an increase of9,929 miles or 1.9 times.

The total number of electrified towns andvillage increased to 473 towns and 1,267 villages as atend September 2006 from 286 towns and 741 villagesin 1988 showing an increase of 187 towns and 526villages during that period.Roads and Bridges

There were 745 bridges of over 180 feet in1988. 404 bridges were increased becoming a total of1149 bridges by the end of September 2006.

Union highways and main roads were extendedto 58,170 miles from 20,548 miles in 1988, an expansionof 37,622 miles during that period. In 2006 total railtracks have been stretched to 4,034 miles from 2,794 in1988, expansion of 1,240 miles an increase of 1,4 times.Transportation

The total number of airports increased to 73 in2006 from 66 in 1988 showing an increase of 7airports. Moreover, renovation and upgrading of 13airports and expansion of airstrips are being carriedout. Construction of international jetties and containerterminals were also carried out to promote services.The number of jetties increased to 32 in 2006 from 15in 1988 an increase of 17 jetties. We have now 5 newcontainer terminds.

As regards communication sectors, microwave stations increased to 230 in 2006 from 71 in 1988by 3.2 times an increase of 159 new stations.

Cellular, CDMA, GSM telephone system aswell as Internet services are introduced and beingexpanded. The number of telephone exchangeincreased to 866 in 2006 from 245 in 1988 increasing621 exchanges.External Trade

During the First Four-Year Plan period, exportsincreased at an average annual growth rate of 17.7 percent and imports by 21.1 per cent. In the Second Five-Year Plan Period, exports increased at an averageannual growth rate of 17 per cent while that of importsby 4.8 per cent.

In the Second five years plan it may be noticedthat yearly export growth is over 20% with theexception in 2003/04 showing negative growth. Thiswas due to the prohibition made to some WesternBanks from providing financial services to Myanmarusing US currency in business transations.

Otherwise the export growth would be over20% .There was reduction in import. However, importbegan to rise in 2005/06. It can be observed that in all4 years of first plan period and in all five years ofsecond plan, balance of trade was negative, which isunhealthy for the economy.

It may be aware that, balance of trade wassurplus for the four consecutive years beginning from2002-2003.

Myanmar foreign trade is mainly with theAsian countries, sharing 90 %, followed by Europeancountries, 4.8 % and American countries, 1.5 %.ASEAN shares 51.3 %.

It can be seen that as of September 2006, totalexport increased by 28.2 % and total import by 31.9%over the same period of last year. Total trade volumealso increased by 29.49%.Inflation

The rates of inflation at the beginning and endof the four year plan were 25.18 per cent and 21.13 percent.

Inflation decreased from double digit level in1999-2000 to single digit level in 2001. Inflation ratestarted to rise again and efforts have been made tobring down the level back to single digit. It stood at3.76 percent in March 2005, but it rose again and was16.4 percent in September 2006.Investment

From 1988-89 to 2006 (end September),permitted amount of foreign investment totaled US$13.849 billion. The inflow of foreign investment startedto contract since 1997-98, mainly due to the indirectimpact of monetary crisis in Asian countries andsanction imposed by some western countries. However,foreign investment increased again in 2005-2006.

The permitted amount of investment is US$158 million and US$ 6.06 billion in 2004-2005 and2005-2006 respectively.

Asian countries are the largest investors withshare of 79.5 %, followed by European countries with17.3 % and American countries with 3.2%. Out ofAsian countries, the share of ASEAN is 71.2%.Fourth short-term five-year plan (2006/07 to 2010/11)

The fourth short-term five-year plan wasformulated aiming to maintain the stable and sustainedhigh economic growth rate, to continue the achievementof good foundation in economic and financial conditionof the nation, to strive for balanced regional developmentand to have progressive human resources development.National plan target

The fourth short-term five-year plan is aimed toachieve an average annual growth rate of 12 per cent orto increase the economy by 1.77 times.2006-2007 annual plan and performance

(up to September 2006)GDP growth rate for 2006-07, the first year of the

fourth short-term five-year plan, is targeted at 12 percent.The growth rate achieved in the first quarter (Q1,

April to June) of 2006-07 annual plan was 14.4%.Agriculture Sector increased by 12.3%, Industry Sector by17.5% and Services by 14.2%.

The second quarter (Q2, July to September)realized the growth rate of 12.8%. Agriculture Sectorincreased by 11.9%, Industry Sector 16.9% and Servicesby 11.9%.

The performance for the first half of the yearregistered at a growth rate of 13.4%, comprising 12%growth in Agriculture, 17.2% in Industry and 12.9% inService Sector.

Conclusion: Economic DevelopmentExcellencies,Ladies and gentlemen,

To summarize my presentation-We have implemented three economic plans. The

first short-term five-year plan achieved an average annualgrowth rate of 7.5%, the second short-term five-year planachieved 8.5% and the third five-year plan achieved anaverage annual growth rate of 12.8%. The economy expanded1.34, 1.5 and 1.83 times respectively. It can be judged fromthese figures that our economy has grown gradually — thegrowth of the second plan is better than the first plan and thethird plan is far better than the second.

(See page 6)

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(from page 5)When we look at

per capita GDP, it was4,496 kyats in 1991,92before we started the firstshort-term plan. Uponcompletion of the plan, itincreased to 13,415 kyatsand after the second andthe third short-term plans,it increased to 50,927kyats and 221,217 kyatsrespectively.

The agriculturesector achieved anaverage annual growthrate of 6.4%, 7.3% and9.3% during the first,second and third short-term plans respectively.

The industrysector realized an averageannual growth rate of11.6% during the firstshort-term plan, 11.4%during the second short-term plan and increasedsharply to 23.5% duringthe third short-term plan.

The servicessector realized an averageannual growth rate of7.3% during the firstshort-term plan and grewto 8.5% and 13.9%respectively during thesecond and third short-term plans.

Thus, it is worthnoting that Myanmar’seconomy is developingwith accelerated growthin all 3 main sectors.

If we look atcrop production, totalsown acreage increasedtwice and irrigated areaincreased 2.2 times. Theproduction of principalcrops also increased.The increment of paddyproduction is 2.1 times;beans and pulses, 11times; cotton, 3.9 times;sugar cane, 3.3 times, oilcrops, 3.3 times; andculinary crops, 4.7 times.The production of meatincreased 4.9 times andfish and prawnincreased 3.8 times.

Let me recap theinfrastructure sector. Thelength of roads increased3 times; the number offactories increased 2.8times; the number ofbridges over 180 feetincreased 1.5 times;electric power generationincreased 2.7 times and

length of powertransmission anddistribution linesincreased 1.9 times. Thenumber in microwavestations also increased 3.2times.

These growthsare due to the concertedefforts of the people,government, and theTatmadaw. It is becauseof the ce-ta-na of the State,good and right objectivesand the combined andconcerted efforts of thegeneral public, we haveobtained peace andstability in the wholecountry and equitable andbalanced developmentamong states and divisionsincluding the border areas.

The government hasplaced emphasis onagriculture sector as thebase and all rounddevelopment of othersectors as well. On theother hand, thedevelopment of theindustry sector is beingencouraged with the viewto become a modernizedand wealthy country.Along with thedevelopment of industrysector, extensiveexpansion of electricpower and exploration ofoil and gas are also beingundertaken.

When we look atexternal trade position,there was deficit for 22consecutive years startingfrom 1977-78. But wehave improved thatsituation and now we havesurplus in external tradesince 2002-2003.

We will try more tohave better results.Current account balancewas also negative for morethan 2 decades. Necessarymeasures have beenundertaken thereby wehave achieved surplus incurrent account since2002-2003.

The improve-ment in balance of tradeand current account is oneof the important factors tobring about soundeconomy.

Regarding inflation,the inflation rate wasaround 25% during thefirst and second short-term

plans but we try our bestfor the decline of theinflation rate. During themiddle of the third short-term plan, it declined tothe level below 5%, but ishas started to rise again.We are making all roundefforts to reduce the rate.

Out of the 3 majoreconomic indicators toasses the situation of theeconomy, for the firstindicator - DP - We havesustained high growthrate. For the secondindicator - CurrentAccount Balance - wehave sustainedimprovement. Only thelast one - inflation - whichhas risen, we will try tomake it decline.

What I have briefedyou here, is based on truefacts and official figuresof our country. There is asaying - Seeing isbelieving! After seeing thefigures and the reality ofphysical development,one can make the rationaljudgment. Those who donot have any prejudice canmake the rightassessment.

There is sanctionfrom one western countryand yet, we have gainedremarkable achievementin our endeavours for thes o c i o - e c o n o m i cdevelopment of thecountry. Our achievementis mainly because of theunity and the relentlesscombined effort of thepeople, the governmentand the Tatmadaw. We canachieve more if there is nosanction. But if we lookfrom the other side, we cansay that, the sanctionunintentionally makes uswork harder, rely more onour own and therebyheighten our ability.

The people, thegovernment and theTatmadaw will unitedlycontinue our endeavoursfor the furtherdevelopment of the socio-economic conditions ofthe people and thecountry.

Implementation ofMDGs and Cooperationwith UN Agencies andINGOs

Excellencies, Dis-tinguished Guests andJournalists, Ladies andGentlemen

I would like to

annual reports on countryor region. The UNagencies, internationalorganizations includingWorld Bank anddeveloped countriesprovide assistance incollecting data andinformation related toMDGs.

In order to achievethe MDGs by 2015,developing countries haveto be constantly aware ofinputs required fordevelopment of indicatorsfor MDGs, and integradethese in the context of theirnational plans.

By looking at MDGsannual reports issued bythe UN, developedcountries, UN andinternational organi-zations can realize thesituations in developingcountries and they providefinancial and technicalassistance to helpdeveloping nationsachieve their MDGs.

As for Myanmar, theinternational organi-zations such as WorldBank, IMF, ADB hadsuspended assistancesince 1988 and ODA isalmost none. Never-theless, Myanmar hasbeen endeavouring to toachieve the MDGsthrough our national planframe using her ownresources, and the MDGindicators have beenlooking good.

In implementing

development program bypreparing PovertyReduction Strategy Paper(PRSP) to alleviatepoverty-which is thefundamental goal of theMDGs, World Bank, IMFand internationalorganizations providefinancial and technicalassistance to low incomecountries but notMyanmar. However, in2004/2005, a survey hasbeen conducted in morethan 100 townships within14 states and divisionsunder “IntegradedHousehold LivingConditions AssessmentProject” in cooperationwith UNDP. Altogether 16MDG related indicatorswere included in thesurvey.

Myanmar hasconpiled facts and figuresrelated to MDG indicators,and has issued MDGreports for 2005 and 2006.Most of the performancesin the reports have beenachieved through our ownprograms using our ownresources. MyanmarMillennium DevelopmentGoals Report for 2006 isdisplayed here today.

I would like tocontinue with Myanmar’ssituation and figuresrelated to MDGs.

Goal No 1 is toeradicate poverty andhunger and to lower theratio of people who suffer

(See page 7)

brief the efforts we havemade in trying to achievethe United NationsMillennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs).

Here, I would like togive a brief explanationon how MDGs have beendeveloped. The UNMillennium Summit heldin September 2000 in NewYork declared the UNMillennium Declarationwhich aimed to solve thechallenges on poverty,education, health genderdiscrimination andenvironmental protection.This declaration with aimsto be achieved by 2015has been adopted by 189member countries. Theseaims are now now asMillennium DevelopmentGoals- MDGs in short.

MDGs consistedof 8 goals, 18 targets and48 indicators. The firstseven goals are toalleviate poverty multi-sector approach, and thelast goal is to develop aglobal partnership inorder to achieve the firstseven goals.

Countries have tocompile figures and datawhich show whethertargets have been achievedor not and their progresson MDGs. Then they haveto sumbit these data to theUN and internationalorganizations. Someindicators can only beobtained by conductingsurveys. The UN issues

Myanmar and UN Agenciesare jointly …

Amount of Foreign Direct Investment in Myanmar(Nation-wise)

(Up to September 2006)

US$ millionPercentageof Invest-

ment

Asian countries 11,012 79.5ASEAN+3 countries 10,462 75.5ASEAN countries 9,861 71.2Japan 215 1.5People’s Republic of China 194 1.4Republic of Korea 192 1.4India 35 0.3Other countries 515 3.7European countries 2,388 17.3EU member countries 2,379 17.2Other countries 9 0.1Cuntries of America 334 2.4The USA 244 1.8Other Countries 90 0.6Australia 82 0.6Russia 33 0.2Total 13,849 100

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(from page 6)from poverty and hunger by half between 1990 and2015. There is no severe hunger problem in Myanmar.Rice, which is the staple food for Myanmar people, haspresently been produced two times more than before.Population in the 1980s was about 40 million and isnow 55 million.

Compared to the population growth,production of rice is more than sufficient.Production of meat has increased by five times, fishand prawn by 4 times and culinary crops by 4.7times. Hence, there is no food insecurity problem.

In measuring the target to lower the ratio ofpeople who suffer from poverty and hunger by half,nourishment is the indicator. The percentage ofunderweight children under five years has beendeclined.

Nutrition promotion and interventionprograms and programs for micro nutrient deficienciesare also being undertaken. That’s why I would saythere is no difficulty for Goal 1, Target 4 in Myanmar.

Goal No 2 is to achieve universal primaryeducation, and Myanmar has a remarkable achievementin intake and post primary enrollment ratio in primaryeducation. At the last press conference on 29thNovember, the minister for Education had alreadyexplained detailed information regarding MDG’seducation targets so I would not discuss these in detail.

Regarding Goal No 3 which is to promotegender equality and empower women, there is nogender discrimination in Myanmar. The ratio of girlsis higher than boys in basic education as well asuniversities.

The indicator for Goal No 4, which is toreduce child mortality, has been in a good trend.

As regards to Goal No 5, which is to improvematernal health, the trend for mortality rate for childbearing mothers has not declined significantly, and itis still necessary to focus on maternal health care inorder to achieve Goal No 5.

Goal No 6 is to combat HIV/AIDS, malariaand other diseases. This has been carried out under theNational Health Program in collaboration with UNagencies and 3D Fund Program. Generally, prevalenceof HIV/AIDS has been decling. Likewise, the indicatorfor morbidity and mortality of malaria has also becomebetter. The programme to combat tuberculosis is alsoa success.

Goal Nos 4, 5 and 6 are mainly related to thehealth sector. Since the minister for health has explainedhow the Ministry of Health has been endeavouring toachieve MDGs within national programmes at thepress conference held on 29 November, I would notexplain these in detail.

Goal No 7 is to ensure environmentalsustainability and a special emphasis has been placedon environmental sustainability in Myanmar. Greeningof Nine Districts Project in central Myanmar has beencommenced since 1995, and has now expanded to 13districts. Projects have been planned to make thegreening of Central Yoma. A project to make Yangonand its surroundings within 30 miles green is underimplementation.

In carrying out various projects, preventivemeasures have been taken for pollution of air, waterand land degradation.

I also wish to note that in the current five-yearplan, an objective regarding environmental protectionsuch as reforestation and greening have been included.

Goal No 8 is to develop a global partnershipfor development, but assistance and aids from West

Bloc, World Bank, IMF, and ADB have been suspendeddue to political reasons. Even the developmentprogrammes for Myanmar by UNDP are not the samelevel as the ones for other developing countries. Theprogrammes for Myanmar are limited.

With an aim to exceed the MDG targets, theobjective “to exceed the targets of MDGs inimplementing the national plans” has been included inour Fourth Short-term Five Year Plan (2006-2007 to2010-2011).

In implementing the MDGs, some indicatorsare still lacking, but we are trying to achieve the targetswithin our projects and programmes. These will becarried out on our own, and we are also prepared towork with other organizations that are willing tocollaborate with us.

The third and final part is the cooperation withUN agencies, Inter-Governmental Organizations(INGOs), Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)and International Organizations.

As of October 2006, there are 14 UN agenciesimplementing 55 socio-economic developmentprojects, 44 INGOs implementing 56 projects, 9International Organizations implementing 15projects and 2 NGOs implementing 2 projects inMyanmar. Altogether there are 128 projects underthe cooperation program.

I would now like to briefly explain theimplementation of these projects.

With the aim to facilitate systematiccooperation with these Organizations, Ministryof National Planning and Economic Developmentissued the guidelines last February 2006. Thereason behind this is that, during December lastyear, a representative of one UN Agency paid acourtesy call on a minister before his departureupon completion of his assignment in Myanmar.He talked about INGOs working in the borderarea of Myanmar without any collaboration amongthem. The consequence is that there is not mucheffective impact on the local people there. Hefirmly suggested the government to take theguiding role in coordnat ing with theseorganizations.

The higher authorities have also the sameview and directed the Ministry of National Planningand Economic Development as initial coordinator forrelations with the UN Agencies, InternationalOrganizations, INGOs and NGOs and the respectiveMinistries to take the implementation part.

After that, activities of these organizationswho are working in cooperation with Myanmar agencieshave been reviewed.

It was found out that systematic coordinationfrom Myanmar side is necessary so as to have moreeffective results from the activities being carried out bythese organizations which are somehow supportingMyanmar’s socio-econimic development.

Thus, guidelines have been issued in order toimplement projects more systematically and moreeffectively for the benefit of the people and thecountry under cooperation peograms.

The guidelines cover the whole process forcooperation program - from the initial stage of projectproposal to the stage of implementation. Our mainobjective of preparing the guidelines is not to deter ornot to slow down the project activities of theseorganizations. We are doing what we ought to do afterwe have realized the weakness as pointed out by thatRepresentative.

UN Agencies and UN Specialized Agencieshave privileges and immunities under the 1946Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of theUnited Nations and the 1947 United NationsConvention on the Privileges and immunities of the

Specialized Agencies. These Conventions and theGuidelines, the nature by itself, are completelydifferent.

The next matter I wish to express here is thesecurity measures at some project sites in Myanmar.There have been complaints from some UNagencies about limitations or restrictions for fieldvisits to some project sites. Let alone the foreignersin our country, even we, ourselves, have to takesecurity precautions for traveling since there stillremain very few insurgents in some parts of thecountry. Therefore, security measures have to bearranged by the related agencies for domestictravels of the UN personnel. We have theresponsibility to take care for them. We do not wishany unpleasant incident to happen to them even ifthey take their own risks to travel. The UN agencieshave to inform us at least 2 weeks ahead. We can evenmake arrangement for group travel. We are facilitatingin every way we can for the convenience of thesepeople.

Most of the organizations made their tripsaccording to their proposed itinerary. However,there are instances such as doing additional itemsoutside the itinerary. Taking this opportunity, Iwould like to mention one example. It was in May2004 when we have coordinated a trip with otherrelated agencies for a senior official from one UNagency to northern Myanmar; he intentionally wentand met with one organization that was not in theproposed itinerary.

One UN Organization based on guidelinesfor humanitarian needs, even asked for free movementto the project sites. We, on our side, have neverstopped any UN official from his/her official visits tothe project sites. We are cooperating with them forthe successful implementation of the projects. Somewestern countries are accustomed to free novement,but in our country, we have the security reasons.Security reasons differ from one country to another.These people do not try to understand our situation;they thought we were hindering them from what theywanted to do. In fact, it is not.

The humanitarian assistance from the UNagencies does not just happen out of the blue. Ithas to be well planned and formulated beforeimplementation. The same was official visits. Theyhave to be also planned and everything has to bepre-arranged for smooth realization.

Timely arrangements are being done forofficial field visits of UN Agencies in Myanmar.During the period from January 2003 to October2006, we have arranged more than 550 field visits for7 UN Agencies as per their proposed itinerary. Alsofield visits of 28 INGOs have been arranged incoordination with the respective Ministries.Altogether we have arranged more than 500 tripsduring that period. The International Organizationsin Myanmar made over 180 field visits.

Myanmar and UN Agencies are jointlyimplementing programs and projects under therespective cooperation programs. We warmlywelcome those who come and work with us in accordwith the UN Charter for the further development ofsocial and economic conditions of Myanmar. I wouldlike to stress that we can not accept those who use UNto do activities that will infringe our sovereignty andharmful to our union solidarity.

We are cooperating with all the UNAgencies, INGOs, NGOs and InternationalOrganizations in more than120 projects. We lookforward to strengthening our cooperation withthese organizations in utmost good faith.

With this, I would like to conclude this firstpart of the press conference.—MNA

Myanmar and UN Agenciesare jointly …

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(from page 1)Senior General Than Shwe, wife and party

watched singing songs and traditional dances at thePyidaungsu Square in the compound of the gardens.

Students of the cultural troupe of the Ministryof Culture and the State School of Drama, gold medal-lists of Myanmar Traditional Cultural Performing ArtsCompetitions, musicians of Mandalay Myoma MusicTroupe, the Gita Nandawun and the group of MusicBand played the song entitled “Myanmamyay AhlaThinkayta” composed by Bogale Tint Aung and pre-sented traditional dances.

They also entertained the audience with thesong entitled “Seinyadu Thabin Ahlahsin” composedby Gitalulin U Ko Ko.

Senior General Than Shwe andwife Daw Kyaing Kyaing…

Next, Senior General Than Shwe, wife DawKyaing Kyaing and party greeted the artistes.

Afterwards, the Senior General, wife and partyviewed landmarks of the States and Divisions in thegarden.

Head of State Senior General Than Shwe gaveguidance to build a National Landmarks Garden whenhe visited the National Kandawgyi Gardens in April2004.

In accord with the guidance of the Head ofState, a National Landmarks Garden was built on56.67 acres of land congenial to the NationalKandawgyi Gardens.

Under the supervision of the Ministry of For-estry, 20 replicas of national landmarks were built bycompanies. Htoo Trading Co Ltd constructed the exactreplicas of Shwedagon Pagoda and the City Hall ofYangon Division and Shitthaung Stupa of Rakhine State.

Asia Grand Co constructed the exact replicas

of Kanbawzathadi Palace of Bago Division andKyaikhtiyoe Pagoda of Mon State; Dagon Timber CoBayintnaung Cape of Taninthayi Division andMawtinsun Pagoda and Chaungtha Beach ofAyeyawady Division; Momentum Co Thiri MingalaTaungkwe Pagoda of Kayah State, Gokhteik Bridge,Inlay Lake and PhaungdawU Pagoda in Shan State;Pacific Co Mount Khakaborazi of Kachin State andMount Zwegabin of Kayin State.

Asia World Co built the exact replicas ofMyanan Sankyaw Golden Palace, the Moat and theWall and Mount Popa of Mandalay Division andoilfield of Magway Division; Tin Win Tun Co theSagaing Hills and Kaunghmudaw Pagoda of SagaingDivision, Reed Lake and Natma Hill of Chin State;Myat Noe Thu and Nanthabyu Co PeikchinhmyaungCave of Mandalay Division; and Tun Myat Aung CoPindaya ShweUmin Cave of Shan State.

(See page 9)

Head of State Senior Gen-eral Than Shwe gave guidance tobuild a National LandmarksGarden when he visited the Na-tional Kandawgyi Gardens inApril 2004. In accord with theguidance of the Head of State, itwas built on 56.67 acres of landcongenial to the NationalKandawgyi Gardens.

Ministers, senior military officers and guests visit National Kandawgyi Gardens.— MNA

General Thura Shwe Mann unveils the stone plaque of National Kandawgyi Gardens.— MNA

Minister Brig-Gen Thein Aung unveils the stone plaque of National Kandawgyi Gardens.— MNA

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(from page 8)The National Landmarks Garden was con-

structed with a view to enabling the visitors to relaxand enjoy significant landmarks from States and Divi-sions as a mini-union within the Union.

At 10 am, the ceremony to open the DiamondJubilee of the National Kandawgyi Gardens was heldat the gardens.

Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation Maj-Gen Htay Oo and Minister for Forestry Brig-GenThein Aung formally opened the ceremony.

In his address, Minister Brig-Gen Thein Aungsaid that Head of State Senior General Than Shwegave guidance to organize the ceremony to mark theopening of National Kandawgyi Gardens for enablingthe people to enjoy natural scenic beauty. In thisregard, arrangements were made to hold the FlowerFestival and festivities in addition to organizing theDiamond Jubilee of the gardens and opening theNational Landmarks Garden.

The National Kandawgyi Gardens is a botani-cal garden with a long fine tradition. It was completewith various diversities of flora and fauna. In the timeof the Tatmadaw Government, progress can be wit-nessed at the National Kandawgyi Gardens. The pano-rama of the gardens attract about 600,000 visitorsyearly.

The Forest Department in cooperation with

Senior General Than Shwe andwife Daw Kyaing Kyaing…

the Wood Land Co Ltd organize the First FlowerFestival with local and foreign flower species andorchids totalling about 3 million. Under the leadershipof the Ministry of Forestry, related departments workedin concert to enable the National Kandawgyi Gardensto keep abreast of botanical gardens of the world. Inconclusion, the minister urged those present to main-tain the gardens for its durability.

Minister for Forestry Brig-Gen Thein Aungformally unveiled the stone plaque of the gardens andsprinkled scented water on it. Next, Minister Maj-GenHtay Oo and Minister Brig-Gen Thein Aung formallyopened the First Flower Festival.

Later, the ministers, senior military officersand guests visited the booth of the Ministry of Forestryand the National Kandawgyi Gardens. —MNA

YANGON, 18 Dec— Accompanied byofficials of the Invitation,Reception andAccommodation Sub-committee of the NationalConvention ConveningManagement Committee,delegates to the NationalConvention visitedMingaladon Garden Cityand Yangon IndustrialZone, here, yesterdaymorning.

They paidhomage to ZabuOk-shaung Myat-phone-khaung Pagoda inMingaladon Garden City.

NC delegates visit Mingaladon Garden City, Yangon Industrial Zone, ShwedagonPagoda, Church of Yangon School for the Blind

At Zay Gabar Co Ltd,Chairman of the companyDr Khin Shwe explainedfacts about the garden city.

The NC delegatesproceeded to the AsianGarment Factory of AsianGarment Industry Ltd.Officials of the AsianGarment Industry Ltdexplained the productionprocess of the factory. Thedelegates also visitedMyitmakha FinishedWood Product Factoryand ADK GarmentFactory.

In the evening,Christian NC delegates

attended the serviceprior to the X’mas at StMary Cathedral Churchon Bo Aung KyawRoad in BotahtaungTownship.

This morning,Buddhist NC delegatespaid homage toShwedagon Pagoda.Likewise, Christian NCdelegates attended theChurch of Yangon Schoolfor the Blind(Khawegyan) of theMyanmar ChristianFellowship of the Blind inMayangon Township.

MNADelegates of National Convention visit garment factory

at industrial zone, Yangon. — MNA

Famous buildings and natural places from states and divisions at National Kandawgyi Gardens.— MNA

Ministers Maj-Gen Htay Oo and Brig-Gen Thein Aung open first flower festival. — MNA

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NAY PYI TAW, 17 Dec— The following is theclarification made by Deputy Minister for LabourMaj-Gen Aung Kyi on development of employmentopportunities and cooperation between ILO andMyanmar at the press conference held today.Development of Employment opportunities inMyanmar.

The Minister for National Planning andEconomic Development has already made clarificationthat the State Peace and Development Council hasbeen making great efforts in prevalence of law andorder throughout the nation, community peace andtranquillity, uplift of living standard of the people,smoothing the transportation, building a moderndeveloped nation, and other development works. As aresult of these activities, there has been much progressin both internal and overseas employment opportunitiesin Myanmar. According to ASEAN Finance andMacroeconomic Surveillance Unit Database, Myanmarbecomes the fourth country which has the leastunemployment, among the 10 ASEAN member states.I would like to summarize the progress in employmentopportunities in Myanmar sector by sector.

In agricultural sector of Myanmar,development activities that have been carried outinclude the reclamation of cultivable land resourcesfrom fallow and waste land in deepwater areas, theconstruction of new reservoirs and dams,doublecropping and mixed cropping, cultivation ofannual and perennial plants, switch from shiftingcultivation into terrace farming, utilization of modernmethods, cultivation of poppy-substitute crops,enabling private entrepreneurs to make investment inagricultural industry, and opening the AgriculturalBank and the Seed Bank.

In livestock and fisheries sector, poultry, pigs,fish, and shrimp have been increasingly raised andbred in separate farms as well as in combination withagriculture. Accelerated efforts are being made infresh water fisheries and marine fisheries, rice-fishfarming, breeding of turtles, crocodile breeding, modernbee-keeping, special zoning for agriculture, livestockand fisheries. Consequently, production has exceededthe local consumption and the surplus has been exportedto foreign countries.

In forest sector, extended activities are beingcarried out in setting up of forest plantations, greeningtasks of the central dry regions, reorganizing protectedpublic forests, reafforestation, reclamation of reservednatural forests and natural parks, protection and main-tenance of the natural environment, establishing placesfor recreation and establishment of nursery forestgardens.

In mining sector, extended activities are beingperformed in exploration, production, extraction,purification, and marketing of metals, gems, pearl, andsalt and marine chemicals.

In industrial sector, new mills and factorieshave been constructed, the existing factories have beenupgraded, Industrial Development Banks have beenestablished, 18 industrial zones have been establishedto encourage private industries collectively.

In energy and electrical power sector, crudeoil and natural gas exploration projects and factories,

fertilizer plants and methanol plants have been built.There are also extended cooperation with foreignoil companies, and offshore natural gas exploration.Medium-scale and small-scale hydroelectric powerstations, gas turbine power stations, and recyclepower plants utilizing the waste heat, have beenconstructed for electricity generation.

In transport sector, highways, overpass, river-crossing bridges have been built. For rail transportation,new railroads and railway bridges have been built andextended works has been done in the production, repairand maintenance of locomotives and carriages. Inwater transport, tasks are being carried out for smoothriverine transport. Besides natural disaster preventionservices, new vessels have been built, and old onesrepaired and maintained.

Modern ports for loading and unloadingcargoes, docks for general cargo transport, warehouses,and dockyards have been built. For air transport, thereare airport construction projects and airport extensionprojects.

In trade sector, internal and external trade, andborder trade have been extended. The newly openedborder trade offices, departmental stores, MyanmarForeign Trade Bank, and ports can also be seen.

In the rural and urban sector, there can be seenthe increased social infrastructures, such as buildings,schools, universities, degree colleges, colleges, clinics,and hospitals, which show significant development.Moreover, urban infrastructures have been developeddue to establishment of new satellite towns, andextension of urban areas.

As mentioned above, there has been all-rounddevelopment in each sector of the nation. Myanmarhas attracted many tourists from foreign countriessince it is peaceful and safe, inaddition to having fineweather, beautiful scenery, honest and hospitableMyanmar people, and wealth of valuable naturalresources.

It can numerically be seen that in theagricultural sector, 190 new dams, and 298 river waterpumping stations have already been implemented.There have been built 999 rural dams, along withartesian wells and small-scale dams.

As a result, in comparison with 1988 figures,the sown acreage has increased to 29.3 million from19.9 million. And the annual cultivation capacity hasrisen to 46.9 million acres from 23.8 millions acres.The sown acreage of monsoon paddy has grown to16.8 million acres from 11 million. In the past, summerpaddy was not cultivated. But, due to the water supplyprojects, summer paddy is now grown on 3.4 millionacres, and other crops have also been grown by double-cropping and mixed cropping. Thus the overallcultivation capacity has increased to 157 per cent, andthere have been more employment opportunities inagricultural sector.

Similarly, per acre yield of crops are on thesharp increase. The output of beans and pulses hasincreased to 11 times, edible oil, three times andkitchen crops, four times. In the industrial sector,because 18 industrial zones have been establishedand the number of State-owned factories and privatefactories is over 42,000, the employment

opportunities have been increased.Moreover, in the sectors of livestock breeding,

forestry, communication, electric power, energy,education, science and technology, health,transportation, hotel and tourism and urban sector,developments have been achieved by many timescompared with the situations in 1988. As a consequenceof these developments, employment opportunities inthe country also increase significantly. Muchimprovement is also obtained in the technologicalexpertise and performance of human resources.

A total of over 34.7 million of working agegroups are working throughout the country in 2005-2006. There are over 22.3 million workers inagricultural sector, over 4.8 million in industrialsector and over 7.5 million in service sector. Accordingto data, the comparison with 1988 figures show thatthe workers in local employment in agriculturalsector increase over two times, those in industrialsector over 2.5 times, those in service sector nearlytwo times. Thus, overall employment opportunitiesincreased by more than twice of that in 1988-89. Toenjoy more overseas employment opportunities, thelicences were issued to 70 overseas employment agenciesand 28,689 employment opportunities to 14 countrieswere created. Temporary passports have been issued tothose who were illegally working in Thailand to becomelegal ones starting form 6th November, 2006. Theprocess will be more accelerated in the future. Moreover,new workers will be employed legally in Thailandthrough the border entrances in cost-effective wayaccording to the coordination and cooperation betweenthe two governments. We hope this can begin in nearfuture. So it can be said that there will be more overseasemployment opportunities.

It can be seen that the united, unswerving andself-reliant efforts and cooperation among the people,the government and the Tatmadaw, under the guidanceof the Head of the State, is the main reason for theseincrease in employment opportunities in agriculturalsector , industrial sector and service sector.

In the second part, I would like to explain thestatus on the cooperation between Myanmar and ILO.

(See page 11)

Myanmar became a member of ILO at anearly stage and cooperated with ILO heartilyAs in the past, Myanmar will cooperate with ILO in the future

Deputy Minister Maj-Gen Aung Kyi claritiesdevelopment of employment opportunities and

cooperation with ILO at press conference.— MNA

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(from page 10)Past relationship between ILO and Myanmar

The Union of Myanmar regained herindependence on 4 January, 1948, and became amember of the United Nations on 19 April, 1948. In thesame year on 18 May she also became a member ofInternational Labour Organization (ILO). At present,Myanmar has ratified 19 of the ILO Conventionsadopted.

As a member of ILO, Myanmar has never failedto submit annual reports, to be in line with the provisionsunder the ILO constitution, always replying on thecomments of the Committee of Experts. Moreover,Myanmar has also submitted annual reports of the un-ratified Conventions. Myanmar has never failed tofulfill her contributions according to the obligation of amember country. Myanmar delegates attend theInternational Labour Conference regularly. ILO hasbeen providing technical assistance and technical expertsto the areas of employment creation, employmenttraining, working condition and environment, industrialrelations and social security, etc.Charter of the United Nations and Objectives ofILO

Myanmar is a member of ILO and a memberof the United Nations as well. It is explicitly prescribedin Article 2 (7) of the United Nations Charter that theUnited Nations has no authority to intervenetion inmatters which are essentially within the domesticjurisdiction of a State. In accordance with the Article 1of the Agreement reached between ILO and the UnitedNations, ILO is treated as a Specialized Agency of theUnited Nations. Hence, as ILO is a Specialized Agencywhich is cooperating not only with the UN but alsowith the Economic and Social Council of the UN, it isobligated to abide by the UN Charter.Ratification of Convention No 29 Related to ForcedLabour by Myanmar

Convention No 29 related to forced labour isadopted in the year 1930 and Myanmar ratified thisconvention in March 1955. But Article 2(2) ofConvention 29 clearly mentioned the work of servicenot to be included in forced or compulsory labour. TheMinistry of Home Affairs has already issued Order No1/99 and Order Supplementing Order No 1/99 to becompiled with the above Convention.

During 35 years from 1955 to 1990, utilizationof labour contribution was arranged in cases ofemergency during the military operations. After 1990s,17 armed groups have exchanged their arms withpeace and joined hands with Tatmadaw Governmentin endeavoring the nation building tasks. Hence,presently as there is no heavy military operation andforced labour practice is strictly prohibited, there is nolonger use of other working forces.Origin of the Problems (Pyithit Nyunt Wai)

What is unusual here is that ILO has nevermade any complaint before 1990 when a host oflabour contributions were used. But there are nowcrying out at a time when there is practically noforced labour. We began to think why they arehighlighting forced labour only now. As a matter offact, it all began with Maung Maung (a) Pyithit NyuntWai, who departed from Myanmar to avoid legalaction for his commitment of misappropriation at theGem Corporation in 1988. The Ministry of HomeAffairs has already declared FTUB as a terroristorganization in its Notification 1/ 2006 dated 12-4-2006 since Maung Maung (a) Pyithit Nyunt Wai hasabetted the demolitionists to perpetrate disturbancesbesides being a fugitive.

Taking FTUB as a base, Maung Maung (a)Pyithit Nyunt Wai contacted ICFTU, which isinfluential in ILO and sent false news and information.He has constantly been doing these things so that ILOcan take action against Myanmar. Based on his wronginformation, ICFTU submitted the reports to ILOthat accused Myanmar of committing forced labour.ILO formed a commission of Inquiry (COI) toinvestigate the situation of forced labour inMyanmar. But Myanmar did not recognize thecommission. When a request to visit the countrywas made by the commission, it was rejected becauseit would not contribute towards resolving the caseand it would interfere in the internal affairs of thecountry. Nevertheless, the commission visited alongthe border areas and submitted a report based uponwrong information and unfair allegations. Thecommission prepared a report and Myanmar was urgedto follow the three recommendations.

Although Myanmar did not recognize theCommission she implemented the threerecommendations to her fullest possible extent as agesture of respect for ILO.In implementation of the first recommendation

Under the instruction of the State Peace andDevelopment Council, the Ministry of Home Affairshas issued Order No 1/99 and Supplementtary Order toNo 1/99, not to exercise forced labour practices inMyanmar.In implementation of the second recommendation

The above orders were translated into Englishas well as ethnic languages and distributed down to thedistrict, township, ward/village-tract levels in all 14States/ Divisions. Convention 29 ImplementationCommittee including the Deputy Ministers for HomeAffairs and Labour, the Director-General from theDepartment of General Administration and theDirector-General from the Ministry of Labours wasformed for systematically carrying out the eliminationforced labour. Besides, Field Observation Teams( FOT)headed by Senior Officials from the Ministry of Labourmade inspection visit to various States and Divisions.The FOT teams have visited the most alleged areas andprovided knowledge concerning forced labour topeople. An ILO Liaison Officer also participated in anobserver status at some workshops.In Implementation of the Third recommendation

50 cases received from ILO Liaison Officerwere investigated and if the allegations were foundto be true, there are evidence of actions takenagainst him/her whether they are Civil or MilitaryPersonnel according to the provisions under theArticle 25 of the Convention No 29 , Article 374 ofPenal Code and existing laws.

In addition, to show a gesture of cooperationwith ILO, Myanmar has received and discussed withILO TCM four times, HLT one time, vHLT one timeand ILO Mission four times since the year 2000.Myanmar has also accepted the appointment of ILOLiaison Officer as an implementation of the resolutionadopted by ILO 2000 and recommendation of HLT,and this shows the willingness of cooperation withILO. Nonetheless, on the part of ILO, it has neverfulfilled the following recommendations by HLT.

- Myanmar needs help to promote its economybecause the economic growth plays a part in eradicationof forced labour, and

- The international community needsconstructive engagement with Myanmar.

The instances of Myanmar’s taking actionsagainst those who have committed forced labour under

the existing laws indicated that Myanmar respectsConvention 29 and does not encourage forced labour.

When action is taken against those who arefound guilty of committing forced labour , it should betaken into account from the judicial point of view, whyaction should not be taken against a person or anorganization that files a false complaint with theintention to defame or to damage the accused. UnderSection 182 (b), 420, 468, 499 and 500 of the 1860Penal Code , it is stated that a person is liable to be takenactions against him or her if he commits deception anddoes damage to others. This law is still in force, and inthe international community, too, so those who sufferhave the right to sue a person for defamation anddamage.

Furthermore, there have been evidences ofthose who committed forced labour have been takenaction under Article 25 of the ILO Convention 29.There is no provision in Convention 29, which saysthe false complainant must not be taken action. Yet,ILO is demanding no action against such falsecomplainants, which is beyond our national law.

Not wishing to yield the internationalimpression that it is reluctant to cooperate with ILO,Myanmar has fulfilled the demand of ILO. With this inmind , Myanmar has relaxed existing national laws: forthe false complaint, no action would be taken againstthe person lodging a false complainant for the first timeand will be informed of his wrong action; if the sameperson files a false complaint for the second time, hewill be given warning , and if the same person files afalse complaint for the third time, he will have to betaken action against according to the existing laws.Notwithstanding this very relaxed proposal, ILO hasrejected it all in total.

Moreover , there are demands from ILO suchas having discussion for establishment of a mechanismto accept complaints on forced labour before October2006 and approval to be accorded by the highestauthorities concerned of both parties, to release AyeMyint, the case relating to the complaint on forcedlabour at Nga Pyin village of Aung Lan townshipshould be further proceeded for completion etc.

In this connection, when the process ofcomplaints are studied , it is found that the majority ofcomplaints are from Taungup, Aunglan and Bagoareas and that people like Aung Than Tun are behindthe scene. The death of Ko Win Lwin from Nga Pyinvillage in Aunglan Township was a good example. Inthis case, it can be verified in documental evidencesshown on the board that Aung Than Tun, Thein Zan, anex-lawyer, and Zaw Htay, had filed the false complaint.Present Relationship between ILO and Myanmar

Concerning the establishment of themechanism requested by ILO, meetings have alreadybeen conducted four times in Yangon and five times inGeneva. Moreover, during October, an ILO missionhad visited Myanmar for discussion. However,negotiations are required to continue to set up amechanism as there are three remaining differencesbetween ILO and Myanmar.

Now, I would like to present three points ofdisagreement.

The First Point: Their request is that the ILOLiaison Officer wants to examine the complaint offorced labour and confidentially meet the complainants,their representative and witnesses by himself alone. Asthis demand is similar to semi-investigation, it seemsto be beyond the existing laws of our country. Accordingto Section 202 (1) of 1898 Code of Criminal Procedure,this kind of, authority is vested only in a Magistrate or apolice officer assigned by the Magistrate. Although

(See page 12)

Myanmar became a member of ILO …

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM11


Myanmar became a member of ILO …(from page 11)

Myanmar side made negotiation for going togetherwith a person assigned by the Working Committee, theLiaison Officer requested to go alone and examine andthe person assigned by the Working Committee onlywill have to accompany him in particular for securityreason beyond the frame of Myanmar laws.

The Second Point: Their request is to extendthe capacity of ILO liaison officer to appoint anadditional international staff. Myanmar side proposedthat there are evidences that in present situation, theLiaison Officer can handle with the complaints offorced labour himself alone. In future, in response tothe workload of Liaison Officer which he may haveadjustments of his facilities may be accorded duediscussions of both parties. We do not seriously denythe request, but we will consider it in future as inpresent situation it will not be necessary to extend thecapacity.

The Third Point: ILO requests a trial periodnot less than 18 months. Myanmar side has proposed atrial period of twelve months, but ILO did not accept ityet.Demands of the ILO over the disagreement

ILO says, these requests are their minimumpositions and it remains unchanged. The 297th Sessionof ILO Governing Body held in November 2006 madea resolution that the intensive discussions should bemade between Myanmar and ILO concluding

implementation of Convention No 29. Such a discussionshould be based upon the final compromised textproposed by ILO. If Myanmar had not been able to setup a mechanism to deal with the complaints of forcedlabour until the next March GB Session 2007, a specificitem would be placed in the agenda of its Session, toenable it to move on legal options, including, asappropriate, involving the International Court of Justice.

It was found that there is submission of thematter to ICJ for advisory opinion in the concludingremarks. Indeed, only if there is dispute or question ofprovisions under article 37 (1) of the Constitution ofILO, it can be referred to ICJ.

Let me present the original clause:“Any question or dispute relating to the

interpretation of this Constitution or of any subsequentConvention concluded by the members in pursuanceof the provisions of this Constitution shall be referredfor decision to the International Court of Justice.”

Concerning the term of the falsecomplainant, whatever prescribed in the internallaw, ILO requested not to take action against thefalse complainant. Such a request is not containedin provisions under the Convention No 29 and so wedo not question over the dispute in the interpretationof the provisions under the convention No 29.

Concerning Myanmar case, the representativeof People’s Republic of China expressed his opinion atthe 297th GB Session of ILO as follows:

- It should be discussed within the frameworkof ILO in cooperation and negotiation and it should notneed to discuss and transfer to other UN Organizations.

- In order to take actions upon one country, wedisagree to take sanction.

- It is found that the forced labour problem isrelated to the economic development, and if it is reallywilling to eradicate forced labour in that country, theinternational community should consider taking thisfact into account and give assistance to that country.

Similarly, there are other countries thatexpressed constructive opinions on Myanmar. Wethink that it will be more practical if ILO takes theirconstructive advice into consideration.Conclusion

I would like to conclude that since the beginningof her independence, Myanmar became a member ofILO at an early stage and cooperated with ILO heartily.As in the past, Myanmar will cooperate with ILO in thefuture. But we will steadfastly carry out only the taskswhich will be beneficial to the country and the people.At the time of Tatmadaw Government, all theConventions are being observed at its best and theactions have been taken effectively against offenceswhich have happened in some sectors at lower level. Iwould like to express that compared with the successiveperiods after gaining independence, the level ofobservance of the application of Convention 29 reachesthe highest at the time of the Government o the StatePeace and Development Council.

MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 17Dec — The pressconference was held todayat the Ministry of NationalPlanning and EconomicDevelopment, here, on theclarification concerningeconomic growth ofMyanmar, implemen-tation of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals andMyanmar in cooperationwith the UN agencies andinternal and internationalNGOs, development ofemployment opportu-nitiesand cooperation betweenILO and Myanmar. Thefollowing are the replies ofthe officials to local andforeign journalists andthose in-charge ofperiodicals.U Hla Htwe (NihonKeizai Shimbun): I amsatisfied with theclarification of theMinister for National

Planning and EconomicDevelopment on sectoraleconomic growth,especially energy andelectric power sectors.However, supply ofelectricity has beendeteriorating during thelast two months. Tell meplease why electricity cutis happening in Yangon,Mandalay and other majorcities from 8 to 10 hoursdaily. Power deficiencywill affect productioncapacity. Hence, I wouldlike to know arrangementsfor supply of power.Managing Director DrSan Oo of MEPE: Thecharts displayed by theMinistry of NationalPlanning and EconomicDevelopment show theprogress of electric powersector. Today’s pro-duction of electricityincreased 2.5 times that in

1988, and power supply,1.9 times. Power demandof the industrial sectorbecomes higher year afteryear. Generating powerrelies on gas turbines andcombine cycle powerplants in addition to hydelpower plants. Thoughthere were 642.8megawatt generated inOctober 2006, thegenerating power declinedto 423.7 megawatt inNovember and December.Bilu-chaung Hydel PowerStation No 1 and No 2 arealways producingelectricity. However,generating of other hydelpower plants aredepending upon waterstorage capacity of thedams. Hence, power isbeing supplied alternately.At present, industrialzones are being suppliedwith electricity at daytime. Now, natural gaspower stations are beingbuilt. Therefore,arrangements are beingmade for supplying powerto three regions for 12hours a day.U Aung Hla Tun(Reuters News Agency):I would like to knowforeign investment inMyanmar. Furthermore, Iwant to know circulationof FEC amount in the

country.Minister for NPED USoe Tha: The ministerclarified sector-wise andcountry-wise permittedForeign DirectInvestments (FDI) withthe use of charts.Deputy Director-General U Kyaw Zaw ofDirectorate of Invest-ment and Com-paniesAdministration: I willnow recap the amount offoreign direct investmentsin all sectors of Myanmar.Invest-ments are US$6,030 million in electricpower sector, US$ 2,248million in oil and gassector, US$ 1,452 millionin production sector, US$591 million in hotel andtourism sector, US$ 858million in real estate

sector, US$ 309 million intransport andcommunications sector,US$ 301 million inlivestock breeding andfisheries, US$ 193 millionin industrial estate sector,US$ 172 million in miningsector, US$ 37 million inconstruction sector, US$34 million in agriculturesector, and US$ 33 millionin other services sectortotalling 13 billion.Governor of CentralBank of Myanmar UKyaw Kyaw Maung:There are 27.305 millionFECs in circulation inMyanmar till 31 October2006.Daw Sint Sint Aung(Nippon TV): What doesforced labour mean?According to the deputy

labour minister, if anaccusation was true,action was taken againstanyone who committedforced labour, regardlessof civilian and militaryserviceman. So, I wouldlike to know what degreeof action was takenagainst those whocommitted forced labour?Was there any actiontaken against a personwhose complaint hadbeen a false one?

I have learnt that thelaying of pipelines fornatural gas in Sittway,Rakhine State, willdisplace the wards onStrand Road inlcudingZaygyi Hospital. Is thattrue? If so, when and howwill they be moved?

(See page 13)

Questions and Answers at Press Conference

Minister U Soe Tha greets diplomats and officials at the press conference. — MNA

Minister

for

Finance

and

Revenue

Maj-Gen

Hla Tun.

MNA

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM12


Questions and Answers at Press Conference…(from page 12)

Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, Deputy Minister for Labour:Facts about forced labour are being displayed

here at the press conference. The Ministery of HomeAffairs has issued additional orders (1/99) regardingforced labour. These orders prescribe which kinds ofcases mean force labour and which do not mean, andprohibit the cases that concern forced labour and thecases that do not concern.

These orders were issued according to paragraph(2), Article (2) of ILO’s Convention (29). In thisregard, the five major cases that do not concern forcedlabour are: (1) conscription prescribed undercompulsory military service law, (2) tasks for regionaldevelopment and health care and social sector carriedout under public civics in the interests of the people,(3) hard labour for those who are sentenced to prisonterms under law, (4) work done collectively by thepeople under a state of emergency due to naturaldisasters such as fire, floods and earthquake, and (5)contributions of the members towards the socialorganization concerned.

As soon as the news on forced labour had beenreported, field observation teams were sent to makean investigation into such a case. If the complaint wasfound true, action was taken against those who wereinvolved in it. If not, no action was taken against theaccused. So far, there have been 50 cases related tolocal authorities and 12 to military field.Deputy Minister for Energy Brig-Gen Than Htay:

When a large gas deposit was discovered in aRakhine offshore area, it was guessed that the gaswould be sold to a foreign country through pipelines.And those who could not bear to see the prosperity forthe development of the nation and the people due tothe discovery manufactured a wilful accusation onthe project. We have no plans to relocate any wards inthis regard.

U Thet Khaing (Myanmar Times Journal):The ILO put pressure on Myanmar politically. Let meknow how Myanmar tries to ease political pressure. Atsuch a time, what is the advantages and disadvantages ofcooperation with ILO? My second question is thatMyanmar is a signatory of ASEAN EconomicCommunity. Some of the member nations madeEconomic Structural Adjustment (ESA). Is it necessaryfor Myanmar to make reforms for ESA? If so, how doesthe government undertake the issue?Deputy Minister for Labour Maj-Gen Aung Kyi:Putting political pressure is not the business of ILO. Inthe preamble of the constitution of ILO worker issuesare to be solved through justice and equality. IfMyanmar’s measures on worker issues can be explainedand made public, they will satisfy the problem.

(from page 16)of the Diplomatic Corps Philippines AmbassadorMme Phoebe A Gomez, diplomats, Chargesd’Affaires ai of the foreign missions and embassystaff, resident representatives of UNDP, UNICEF,FAO, UNODC, WHO, UNFPA, WFP and UNIAP,departmental officials, representatives of NGOs,responsible persons of the Union Solidarity andDevelopment Association, Myanmar Women’s Af-fairs Federation, Myanmar Maternal and ChildWelfare Association, Myanmar Women Entrepre-neurs’ Association, War Veterans Organization,Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Com-merce and Industry and social organizations, newsand information officials, Patron of Myanmar For-eign Correspondents Club U Hla Htway, PresidentU Sao Kai Hpa and members, those in-charge ofperiodicals and guests.

Later, the diplomats, journalists and guestsviewed charts, graphs, documents and documentaryphotos concerning economic growth of Myanmar,implementation of the Millennium Development Goalsand Myanmar in cooperation with the UN agenciesand internal and international NGOs, development ofemployement opportunities and cooperation betweenILO and Myanmar.

MNA

Press conference oneconomic growth…

Myanmar has positive attitude towards ILO. Wehope that a stage that all can accept will come soonand Myanmar informed ILO of continuedcooperation. Myanmar will continue to cooperatewith ILO as long as its attitudes are not harmful tothe interests of the nation and the people.Minister for National Planning and EconomicDevelopment U Soe Tha: ASEAN is trying toestablish the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.The AEC includes commodity trade and service sectorand investment sector. Agreements on those sectorswere signed among the ASEAN nations. There is noagreements that Myanmar cannot sign. Fouragreements among the ASEAN were signed in thePhilippines in December.

U Kyaw Swa Min (Yangon Times): It islearnt that ILO will submit Myanmar issue on forcedlabour to International Court of Justice (ICJ). Is ittrue? According to the overseas employment agencies,workers do not get jobs abroad and there are somedifficulties for them. Is there any arrangements forthat issue? Some private factories made workerswork the whole night. Is there any action againstthem?Deputy Minister for Labour Maj-Gen Aung Kyi:Submitting the issue to ICJ is unnecessary and it isnot in accord with the ILO constitution. Thegovernment gave instructions to the factories thatworkers are to work within working hours. If theyfail to follow the instructions for the first time, thegovernment sends an official notice to them. Theyare to sign the pledge if they fail to do so for thesecond time. In the third time, the government filesa suit.

The Ministry of Labour had issued licencesto 70 overseas employment agencies. If they do notfollow rules and regulations, the licences arerevoked. If necessary, legal action is taken againstthem. Those that violate the rules were given sevenyears imprisonment and fine.Nay Tun Naing of Weekly Eleven Journal :What I would like to know is that old servicepersonnel who have retired are now to rely on theirretirement pensions. But their pensions are onlonger in consonance with the present time.Regarding this, is there any plan to increase theirpensions?Minister for Finance and Revenue Maj-Gen HlaTun: Since 1 April 2006, service personnel whoare currently engaged in government establishmentshave been facilitated with a new scale of salary.However, old service personnel who have alreadyretired are still being provided with an old scale ofsalary. Those who are enjoying a new scale of

salary will be provided with retirement pensionsdepending on the new scale of salary when theyretire.

U Kyi Soe of Leyarsibwa News Journal:What I would like to know is that the increase intransport charge has an impact on the commodityprices. Although it is now the time of new harvest andnew paddy is there no significant decrease in theprice of rice. In this regard, is there any measure tobe taken for stabilizing the price of rice in the longterm?

Minister for National Planning andEconomic Development U Soe Tha: To cope withthe price of rice we are now focusing on fightingagainst rising inflation. We are striving to controlinflation. In the process, public cooperation isessential.

The rising of commodity prices has a profoundimpact on the entire people. Those who unintentionallycaused the rising of commodity prices will also behurt by the impact of the rising prices. This being thecase, all are to pay serious attention to stabilizing ofcommodity prices.

MNA

Deputy Minister for EnergyBrig-Gen Than Htay.—MNA

Deputy Director-General U KyawZaw of Directorate of Investmentand Companies Administration.

MNA

Managing Director Dr San Oo ofMEPE.—MNA

Governor of Central Bank ofMyanmar U Kyaw Kyaw Maung.

MNA

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM13


S P O R T S

Answers to yesterday’sCrossword Puzzle

C E L E R Y 8 8 C H E C K

A 8 A 8 E 8 T 8 L 8 L 8 E

R O U N D 8 A B A N D O N

A 8 N 8 O 8 R 8 D 8 E 8 N

F I D D L E R 8 8 F R E E

E 8 R 8 E 8 Y E S 8 8 8 L

8 H Y M N 8 8 8 A J A R 8

N 8 8 8 T A G 8 T 8 V 8 S

A L M S 8 8 R A I M E N T

U 8 E 8 B 8 E 8 A 8 R 8 A

G A R B A G E 8 T R A M P

H 8 I 8 L 8 D 8 E 8 G 8 L

T O T A L 8 8 A D H E R E

As the curtain of the 15thAsian Games was rungdown on 15 Dec, 2006night at the KhalifaStadium, the flag of theOlympic Council of Asiawas handed over toGuangzhou, China,which will host the nextGames in 2010. A shortsegment titled “OrientCharm” then high-lighted a vibrant and newChina ready to embrace

the world.—XINHUA

Team International cap-tain Annika Sorenstam ofSweden tees off on the firsthole during the second dayof the Lexus Cup golf tour-nament in Singapore on16 Dec, 2006.—INTERNET

Japan’s Mao Asada performsher free programme during the

ISU Grand Prix of FigureSkating final in St Petersburg,on 16 Dec, 2006. —INTERNET

S African immelman leadsin SAA Open

ASEAN University Gamesopens in Vietnam

HANOI, 17 Dec — The 13th ASEAN UniversityGames, the biggest sports tournament for students inmembers of the Association of South-East Asian Na-tions (ASEAN) lifted curtains here Saturday.

The event's opening ceremony started with theparade of nearly 1,100 young athletes of nine delega-tions, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei,Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and host Viet-nam, and was followed by splendid artistic perform-ances beautified by dancing laser light at the HanoiStadium packed with some 20,000 spectators.

The athletes are vying for 157 sets of medals from12 sports events, namely athletics, badminton, basket-ball, chess, football, karate, pencak silat, swimming,table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball at thebiennial tournament, held in Vietnam for the first time.

MNA/Xinhua

Philippine Asiad medal tally bestsince 1962

JOHANNESBURG, 17 Dec—South African golfer TrevorImmelman carded a courserecord nine-under-par 63 onhis way to a three-strokelead ahead of the final roundof the South African Air-ways Open in Port Eliza-beth on Saturday.

Immelman’s spectacularbogey-free round includednine birdies and placed himat 20-under-par three, shots

ahead of countryman ErnieEls. Els carded an equallyimpressive six-under par66 to leave him at 17-un-der-par, with Swede PatrikSjoland at 15 under fol-lowing a 69, reported theSAPA news agency.

Immelman, who turned27 on Saturday, was morethan satisfied with hisday’s work at HumewoodGolf Club, said the report.“It was a great day for me.Anytime you can shoot agood round in Ernie’s pres-ence is a great feeling,”Immelman was quoted assaying.—MNA/Xinhua

MANILA, 17 Dec— The Philip-pines closed out its Asian Gamescampaign with four gold medals,six silvers and nine bronzes for itsbest finish since 1962, local mediareported on Saturday.

Thanks to boxers Violito Paylaand Joan Tipon, cue artist AntonioGabica and wushu fighter ReneCatalan, Philippine delegation ral-lied at the finish to salvage 18thplace overall, said a report by ThePhilippine Star daily. It was a notchhigher than what the Filipinos ac-complished in the 2002 Games inBusan, South Korea, which produceda 3-7-16 haul, and it bettered byone silver the 1986 Asian Gamers'feat in Seoul, said the report.

The Filipinos recorded theirbest showing at home in 1954 whenthey won 14 golds, 14 silvers and 17bronzes and had 8-9-21 in Tokyo in1958. But after racking up a 7-4-16haul in the Jakarta Games in 1962,the Filipinos' performance in theAsiad took a tailspin, winning onlytwo golds, 15 silvers and 25 bronzesin Thailand in 1966, posting a1-9-12 tally in Bangkok in 1970,making 0-2-10 in Iran in 1974, tally-ing 4-4-6 in 1978 in Thailand, tak-ing 2-3-9 in India in 1982, winning4-5-9 in Seoul Games in 1986, set-tling for 1-2-7 in 1990 in Beijing,winning 3-2-8 in the 1994 in Hiro-shima and posting a 1-5-12 tally in1998 in Bangkok.— MNA/Xinhua

Premiership17 Dec,2006

Everton 2-3 ChelseaMan City 1-2 TottenhamWest Ham 1-0 Man Utd

Internet

Barclays Premiership Table17 December 2006

P GD PTS1 Man Utd 18 28 442 Chelsea 18 19 423 Liverpool 18 11 314 Arsenal 18 14 305 Bolton 18 5 306 Portsmouth 18 9 297 Tottenham 18 0 288 Reading 18 -3 269 Aston Villa 18 3 25

10 Everton 18 2 2411 Wigan 18 -3 2212 Newcastle 18 -3 2213 Man City 18 -7 2014 Sheff Utd 18 -8 2015 Fulham 17 -11 2016 Blackburn 17 -6 1917 Middlesbrough 17 -8 1718 West Ham 18 -13 1719 Charlton 18 -18 1220 Watford 17 -11 11

Internet

Stunning late Drogba strike keepsChelsea’s title bid alive

LIVERPOOL, 17 Dec— Didier Drogba smashed aspectacular 87th minute winner as Chelsea twicecame from behind to keep their title hopes alive witha 3-2 win over Everton at Goodison Park. Chelsea, two points behind Premiership lead-ers Manchester United at the start of the day, lookedto be heading for a devastating defeat Sunday whenJoseph Yobo headed the hosts into a 2-1 lead in the64 minute. But a stunning late rally saw Mourinho’s sidedraw level through Frank Lampard in the 82nd minutebefore Drogba’s 35-yard cracker — his 16th of theseason — sealed the points.—Internet

West Ham 1-0 Man Utd LONDON,17 Dec—Manchester United had theirPremiership lead cut to two points after AlanCurbishley masterminded a famous win in his firstgame in charge of West Ham. Nigel Reo-Coker tapped in late on to earn thehome side victory against a United side lacking acutting edge.—Internet

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba scores against Evertonduring their English Premier League soccermatch at Goodison Park Stadium, Liverpool,

England, on Sunday, 17 Dec 2006.—INTERNET

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM14


Sunday, 17 December, 2006Summary of observations recorded at 09:30

hours MST: During the past 24 hours, rain or thunder-showers have been isolated in Taninthayi Division andweather has been generally fair in the remaining statesand divisions. Night temperatures were (3°C) to (4°C)above normal in Shan and Mon States, Magway Divi-sion, (6°C) above normal in Kachin State and aboutnormal in the remaining areas. The significant nighttemperature was Haka (4°C). The noteworthy amountof rainfall recorded was Kawthoung (1.06) inches.

Maximum temperature on 16-12-2006 was 92°F.Minimum temperature on 17-12-2006 was 66°F. Rela-tive humidity at 09:30 hours MST on 17-12-2006 was83%. Total sunshine hours on 16-12-2006 was (8.4)hours approx.

Rainfalls on 17-12-2006 were (Nil) atMingaladon, Kaba-Aye and Central Yangon.Totalrainfalls since 1-1-2006 were (98.46) inches atMingaladon and (111.61) inches at Kaba-Aye and(116.69) inches at Central Yangon. Maximum windspeed at Yangon (Kaba-Aye) was (15) mph from Eastat 15:15 hours MST on 16-12-2006.

Bay inference: Weather is partly cloudy in theAndaman Sea and South Bay and generally fair else-where in the Bay of Bengal.

Forecast valid until evening of 18-12-2006:Isolated light rain are possible in TaninthayiDivision,weather will be partly cloudy in Kachin , Shanand Rakhine States and generally fair in the remainingstates and divisions.Degree of certainty is (40%).

State of the Sea: Strong easterly wind withmoderate to rough seas are likely at times off and alongand Mon-Taninthayi Coast. Surface wind speed instrong wind may reach (35)to (40)mph.Seas will beslight elsewhere in Myanmar waters.

Outlook for subsequent two days: Likelihoodof slight decrease of night temperatures in the EasternMyanmar area.

Forecast for Nay Pyi Taw and neighbouringareas for 18-12-2006: Fair weather.

Forecast for Yangon and neighbouring areasfor 18-12-2006: Partly cloudy.

Forecast for Mandalay and neighbouringareas for 18-12-2006: Fair weather.

WEATHER

Monday, 18 December

View on today

*R 489 Published by the News and Periodicals Enterprise, Ministry of Information, Union of Myanmar. Edited and printed at The New Light of Myanmar Press,No 22/30 Strand Road at 43rd Street, Yangon. Cable Newlight, PO Box No. 43, Telephones: Editors 392308, Manager 392226, Circulation 392304, Advertisement 392223,Accounts 392224, Administration 392225, Production/Press 297028

7:00 am1. Recitation of Parittas

by MissionarySayadawU Ottamathara

7:25 am2. To be healthy

exercise7:30 am3. Morning news

7:40 am4. Nice and sweet song

7:55 am5. Song of national

races8:10 am6. Cute little dancers

8:20 am7. pn\;liOc\tMta;pn\;liOc\tMta;pn\;liOc\tMta;pn\;liOc\tMta;pn\;liOc\tMta;

8:30 am8. International news

8:45 am9. Grammar made easy

4:00 pm1. Martial song

4:15 pm2. Song to uphold

National Spirit4:30 pm3. Demonstration Exer-

cises for CorrectPronunciation

4:45 pm4. Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\pvaer;Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\pvaer;Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\pvaer;Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\pvaer;Aew;qc\tk˚qiul\pvaer;

Rup\�mc\qMÂka;qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka;qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka;qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka;qc\Kn\;saRup\�mc\qMÂka;qc\Kn\;sapTmN˙s\ (RukebdAT¨¨;�po)pTmN˙s\ (RukebdAT¨¨;�po)pTmN˙s\ (RukebdAT¨¨;�po)pTmN˙s\ (RukebdAT¨¨;�po)pTmN˙s\ (RukebdAT¨¨;�po)(Rukebd)(Rukebd)(Rukebd)(Rukebd)(Rukebd)

8:30 am Brief news8:35 am Music:

-I do cherish you8:40 am Perspectives8:45am Music:

-I want you back8:50 am National news/

Slogan9:00 am Music:

-You make me abetter man

9:05am Internationalnews

Monday, 18 DecemberTune in today

Bura;' qim\' ek¥ac\;' rhn\;AmÂk;Bura;' qim\' ek¥ac\;' rhn\;AmÂk;Bura;' qim\' ek¥ac\;' rhn\;AmÂk;Bura;' qim\' ek¥ac\;' rhn\;AmÂk;Bura;' qim\' ek¥ac\;' rhn\;AmÂk;

edÅKc\‘mic\ (kqaAqc\;)(kqaAqc\;)(kqaAqc\;)(kqaAqc\;)(kqaAqc\;)

Aqk\ (78)Ns\Aqk\ (78)Ns\Aqk\ (78)Ns\Aqk\ (78)Ns\Aqk\ (78)Ns\rn\kun\tuic\;' buil\teTac\‘mi>ny\' Amt\ (4)rp\k∑k\'

buil\teTac\lm\;' Aim\Amt\ (14)en k∑y\l∑n\q √;lv∑n\>f zn;'ss\kuic\;tuic\;' bn\;emak\‘mi>ny\' DmμsÂkalm\;en edÅÂkv\lOic$k∑y\l∑n$f v^m' mKc\sn\;N∑y$t∑´Pk\påemak) Datuebd@an'hqçattk˚quil\' mKc\sn\;Âk∑y\(�pv\pwy\yër;' Am˙t\ (2)qt†ot∑c\;lup\cn\;' en�pv\eta\' mmui;miu;ew (bn\;emak$' mK¥ioK¥ioma(pc\sc\@an' ny;luik\eAa.P\�mn\maqtc\;satuik\)' emac\emac\eT∑;+mKc\Kc\l(Alup\RuMNc\.Alup\qma;√pedss\eS;er;' en�pv\eta\)tui>fK¥s\ls∑aeqa em∑;miKc\Âk;qv\ 16-12-2006 en> ven 5 nart∑c\k∑y\l∑n\q∑a;påq�Pc\. 20-12-2006 en> (12;00)nart∑c\ erew;AeA;tuik\m erew;quqan\qui> pui>eSac\m;q‘gç ih\mv\�Ps\påeÂkac\;rp\ew;rp\n;eneS∑m¥io; mit\qgçhm¥a;Aa; AeÂkac\;Âka;Ap\påqv\"enAim\m˙ ka;m¥a; nMnk\ 10;00 nar^ T∑k\K∑apåmv\"

k¥n\rs\qmiqa;su k¥n\rs\qmiqa;su k¥n\rs\qmiqa;su k¥n\rs\qmiqa;su k¥n\rs\qmiqa;su

9:10 am Music:-Let me be theone

1:30 pm News / Slogan1:40 pm Lunch time

music-I hear you now-Lilae wine-You make mefeel

9:00 pm Spotlight onthe star:A*Teens-Can’t help-Hi & Goodbye

9:10 pm Article9:20 pm Music9:35 pm Vocal Gems 9:45 pm News / Slogan10:00 pm PEL

5:00 pm5. Dance variety

5:15 pm6. �mn\masa�mn\masa�mn\masa�mn\masa�mn\masa' ' ' ' ' �mn\maska;�mn\maska;�mn\maska;�mn\maska;�mn\maska;

5:30 pm7. Song and dance of

national races5:40 pm8. {m;lYc\memac\;n>{m;lYc\memac\;n>{m;lYc\memac\;n>{m;lYc\memac\;n>{m;lYc\memac\;n>

emac\;lYc\mm;n>}emac\;lYc\mm;n>}emac\;lYc\mm;n>}emac\;lYc\mm;n>}emac\;lYc\mm;n>}(lmc\;'qqhMqa'(lmc\;'qqhMqa'(lmc\;'qqhMqa'(lmc\;'qqhMqa'(lmc\;'qqhMqa'Aim\Aim\;)Aim\Aim\;)Aim\Aim\;)Aim\Aim\;)Aim\Aim\;)(dåRiuk\ta-qk\tc\)(dåRiuk\ta-qk\tc\)(dåRiuk\ta-qk\tc\)(dåRiuk\ta-qk\tc\)(dåRiuk\ta-qk\tc\)

5:45 pm9. Musical programme

(The RadioMyanmar ModernMusic Troupe)

6:00 pm10. Evening news6:30 pm11. Weather report6:35 pm12. Niuc\cM�Ka;Niuc\cM�Ka;Niuc\cM�Ka;Niuc\cM�Ka;Niuc\cM�Ka;kat∑n;\kat∑n;\kat∑n;\kat∑n;\kat∑n;\zat\lm\;t∑´zat\lm\;t∑´zat\lm\;t∑´zat\lm\;t∑´zat\lm\;t∑´

{etat∑c\;qa;cy\el;}{etat∑c\;qa;cy\el;}{etat∑c\;qa;cy\el;}{etat∑c\;qa;cy\el;}{etat∑c\;qa;cy\el;}(Apiuc\;-35)(Apiuc\;-35)(Apiuc\;-35)(Apiuc\;-35)(Apiuc\;-35)

6:50 pm13. Al˙R˙amy\l˙kmıawy\Al˙R˙amy\l˙kmıawy\Al˙R˙amy\l˙kmıawy\Al˙R˙amy\l˙kmıawy\Al˙R˙amy\l˙kmıawy\7:15 pm14. Niuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑´

{K¥s\�Kc\;N˙c\.At¨}{K¥s\�Kc\;N˙c\.At¨}{K¥s\�Kc\;N˙c\.At¨}{K¥s\�Kc\;N˙c\.At¨}{K¥s\�Kc\;N˙c\.At¨}(Apiuc\;-27)(Apiuc\;-27)(Apiuc\;-27)(Apiuc\;-27)(Apiuc\;-27)(zat\qim\;piuc\;)(zat\qim\;piuc\;)(zat\qim\;piuc\;)(zat\qim\;piuc\;)(zat\qim\;piuc\;)

8:00 pm15. News.16. International news17. Weather report18. Niuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑Ńiuc\cM�Ka;zat\lm\;t∑´

{tky\qeBak¥ty\}{tky\qeBak¥ty\}{tky\qeBak¥ty\}{tky\qeBak¥ty\}{tky\qeBak¥ty\}(Apiuc\;-9)(Apiuc\;-9)(Apiuc\;-9)(Apiuc\;-9)(Apiuc\;-9)

19. mc\;k∑n\; Sraeta\mc\;k∑n\; Sraeta\mc\;k∑n\; Sraeta\mc\;k∑n\; Sraeta\mc\;k∑n\; Sraeta\Bura;”k^; √^wisit†qaraBura;”k^; √^wisit†qaraBura;”k^; √^wisit†qaraBura;”k^; √^wisit†qaraBura;”k^; √^wisit†qaraBiwMqf Arp\Sy\m¥k\NaBiwMqf Arp\Sy\m¥k\NaBiwMqf Arp\Sy\m¥k\NaBiwMqf Arp\Sy\m¥k\NaBiwMqf Arp\Sy\m¥k\Naemt†aBawnap∑a;m¥a;�Kc\;emt†aBawnap∑a;m¥a;�Kc\;emt†aBawnap∑a;m¥a;�Kc\;emt†aBawnap∑a;m¥a;�Kc\;emt†aBawnap∑a;m¥a;�Kc\;tra;eta\tra;eta\tra;eta\tra;eta\tra;eta\

20. Thet next day’s pro-gramme

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:33 AM15

14th Waning of Nadaw 1368 ME Monday, 18 December, 2006

* Development of agriculture as the base and all-rounddevelopment of other sectors of the economy as well

* Proper evolution of the market-oriented economicsystem

* Development of the economy inviting participation interms of technical know-how and investments fromsources inside the country and abroad

* The initiative to shape the national economy must be keptin the hands of the State and the national peoples

* Uplift of the morale and morality ofthe entire nation

* Uplift of national prestige and integ-rity and preservation and safeguard-ing of cultural heritage and nationalcharacter

* Uplift of dynamism of patriotic spirit* Uplift of health, fitness and education

standards of the entire nation

* Stability of the State, community peaceand tranquillity, prevalence of law andorder

* National reconsolidation* Emergence of a new enduring State

Constitution* Building of a new modern developed

nation in accord with the new StateConstitution

Four economic objectives Four social objectivesFour political objectives

His Excellency Hon RatnasiriWickramanayaka was born on 5 May1933. He attended DhamapalaVidyalaya and Ananda College. Hestudied law as a student attached toLincola’s Inn, London reading for theBarrister’s at Law Examination andcompleted the 1st part of the said Ex-amination. He served as President ofCeylon Student’s Union in the UK in1957 as well as Convenor and Chair-man of the Afro Asian Students’ Asso-ciation in the UK in 1958.

His Excellency Hon RatnasiriWickramanayaka became a memberof Parliament in March 1960 and gotelected again in July 1960 and contin-ued till 1977. He became Deputy Min-ister of Justice in 1970 and Minister ofPlantation Industries as well as theMinister of Justice in 1976.

He also served as General Sec-retary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Partyfrom 1979 till 1983, Minister of PublicAdministration, Home Affairs andPlantation Industries from 1994 till2000. He was appointed as Prime Min-ister, Minister of Plantation Industriesand Cultural Affairs in 2000.

In June 2004, he was appointedas Minister of Buddha Sasana, PublicSecurity, Law and Order, and Deputy

Curriculum Vitae of His ExcellencyHon Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka,Prime Minister of the Democratic

Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Minister of Defence. In addition, heserved as Minister of Agriculture fromAugust 2005. In November 2005, hebecame Prime Minister, Minister ofDisaster Management and Deputy Min-ister of Defence.

Since February 2006, he hasbeen serving as Prime Minister, Minis-ter of Internal Administration andDeputy Minister of Defence.

He is married. MNA

NAY PYI TAW, 17Dec — A press confer-ence on the economicgrowth of Myanmar, im-plementation of the Mil-lennium DevelopmentGoals and Myanmar’scooperation with the UNagencies and internal andinternational NGOs washeld at the hall of the Min-istry of National Planningand Economic Develop-ment, here, this morning.

First, Minister forNational Planning andEconomic DevelopmentU Soe Tha clarified eco-nomic growth ofMyanmar, implementa-tion of the Millennium De-velopment Goals and co-operation with the UNagencies and internal andinternational NGOs.

Press conference on economicgrowth of Myanmar,

implementation of MillenniumGoals and cooperation with

UN agencies and internal andinternational NGOs held

Hon Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka,Prime Minister of the

Democratic Socialist Republic ofSri Lanka.—MNA

(The clarificationof Minister U Soe Tha isreported separately.)

Deputy Ministerfor Labour Maj-Gen AungKyi clarified developmentof employement opportu-nities and cooperation be-tween ILO and Myanmar.

(The clarificationof Deputy Minister Maj-Gen Aung Kyi is reportedseparately.)

Minister forNPED U Soe Tha, Minis-ter for Finance and Rev-enue Maj-Gen Hla Tun,Deputy Minister for La-bour Maj-Gen Aung Kyi,Deputy Minister for En-ergy Brig-Gen Than Htay,Governor of Central Bankof Myanmar U KyawKyaw Maung, ManagingDirector Dr San Oo of

Myanma Electric PowerEnterprise, Deputy Direc-tor-General U Kyaw Zawof the Directorate of In-vestment and CompaniesAdministration replied tothe queries raised by localand foreign journalists.

Also present onthe occasion were Minis-ter for Transport Maj-GenThein Swe, Minister forLivestock and FisheriesBrig-Gen Maung MaungThein, Deputy Ministerfor NPED Col ThureinZaw, Deputy Minister forForeign Affairs U MaungMyint, Deputy Ministerfor Energy Brig-Gen ThanHtay, Deputy Minister forEducation U Myo Nyunt,Deputy Minister forHealth Dr Mya Oo, Dean

(See page 13)

Minister for National Planning and Economic Development U Soe Tha clarifies cooperation with UN agencies, internal and internationalNon-Governmental Organizations at the press conference.— MNA

18-12-06NL 8/7/18, 5:34 AM16

Established 1914 Volume XIV, Number 246 14th Waning of ... · PDF fileWin, Lt-Gen Thiha Thura...

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