Shinzo Abe (centre) leaves the Myanmar International Terminals Thilawa port on the outskirts of Yangon on May 25, 2013
AFP
YANGON —Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday pledged “all possible
assistance” to kick-start Myanmar’s ailing economy, hailing a major
industrial zone near Yangon as a symbol of development for the
impoverished nation.
Abe, who is touting the potential of Japanese businesses to boost the
once junta-ruled nation’s economy, visited the Thilawa project—a
2,400-hectare site which will include a port and industrial park.
Praising the jointly-developed scheme as a symbol of “bilateral
co-operation” which will create badly needed jobs, Abe said his
government “is ready to provide all possible assistance” as Myanmar
edges toward democracy.
“Japan is happy to support nation-building in Myanmar,” he added,
according to an official translation of comments made after his visit to
Thilawa.
During his trip, Abe is pushing the expertise of Japanese firms—in
particular in infrastructure building—to Myanmar, which desperately
needs investment to drive a much-anticipated economic revival.
“Thilawa SEZ (special economic zone) is a milestone in the
relationship between the two governments and the private sector,” said
Set Aung, Myanmar’s deputy minister of National Planning and Economic
Development.
“This will create quick wins for the people of Myanmar and Japanese
businessmen,” in terms of jobs and much-needed “technical assistance”,
he added.
An environmental impact assessment of the site will be completed in August, he said.
Japan and Myanmar in December agreed to start work this year on the
Thilawa project with the zone due to be up and running in 2015.
Abe follows in the footsteps of other world leaders who have flocked
to the former pariah state since it was welcomed back to the
international community after a nominally civilian government was
installed in 2011.
In the first visit by a Japanese premier since 1977, Abe is seeking
to cement a role for his country in resource-rich and strategically key
Myanmar, whose untouched markets have caught the eye of global
investors.
Unlike its Western allies, Japan maintained trade ties and dialogue
with Myanmar during junta rule which ended in 2011, saying a hard line
could push it closer to China.
During his trip Abe is also expected to unveil almost $1 billion in
development aid and a plan for a nationwide electricity grid as part of a
strategy to tout Japanese infrastructure firms around the world.
He is being accompanied by a 40-strong business delegation bosses of
some of Japan’s top companies including trading houses Mitsubishi,
Mitsui and infrastructure firms Taisei and JGC.
Before the signing ceremony Abe laid wreaths at Yangon’s Martyrs’
mausoleum—where the tombs of independence leaders including General Aung
San—Aung San Suu Kyi’s father—who were assassinated in 1947.
He was due to meet democracy champion Suu Kyi before travelling to
the capital Naypyidaw for a summit with President Thein Sein on Sunday.
© 2013 AFP
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe flies to Myanmar Friday bearing almost $1
billion in development aid and a plan for a nationwide electricity grid
as Japan tries to grab the box seats in the country’s quickening
development.
Abe follows in the footsteps of other world leaders who have flocked
to the former pariah state since it was welcomed back to the
international community after a nominally civilian government was
installed.
In the first visit by a Japanese premier since 1977, Abe will be
playing the role of salesman-in-chief for Japan Inc as part of an
attempt to treble the value of infrastructure exports to help revive his
country’s slumbering economy.
Diplomatic niceties were being observed ahead of the trip, with a
foreign ministry official saying Tokyo wanted to help at a time of rapid
change in Myanmar.
The visit will “show that both the public and private sectors of
Japan will provide full-fledged support to Myanmar’s efforts toward
democratisation, enhancement of the rule of law, marketisation and
national reconciliation,” he said.
Abe, whose approval ratings at home are sky-high on the back of
encouraging economic figures and healthy stock market gains, will spend
three days in Myanmar, the official said.
A report by the business daily Nikkei on Thursday said he would be announcing 100 billion yen in development aid.
Abe will be accompanied by a 40-strong business delegation including
chief executive officers of some of Japan’s top companies, including
trading houses Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Marubeni and Sumitomo, and
infrastructure firms Taisei and JGC, the official said.
During Abe’s visit, Japan will lay out a basic plan for the
development of electric power infrastructure in Myanmar by 2030,
including a proposal to use green technologies in which Japanese
companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi and Toshiba have
an edge, the Nikkei report said.
The premier said last week he wanted Japan to sell infrastructure
worth 30 trillion yen by 2020 and pledged to travel around the world to
make sales pitches.
Former junta-ruled Myanmar is an obvious destination for Abe; it
needs investment to spur growth and replace its dilapidated
infrastructure, while export-reliant Japan is hunting new opportunities
in the resource-rich nation to offset sluggish domestic growth.
Outside the economic agenda, Abe is expected to raise the issue of
Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, following episodes of communal bloodshed in
recent months, the official said.
“The next two to three years are important not only for the ASEAN
countries but also for our bilateral relations,” he said, noting that
Myanmar will assume the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations next year and that “there are many things to be done” in
Myanmar’s political reform.
“The biggest message to Myanmar… is that the Abe administration
thinks that the ASEAN countries are very important to Japan and Myanmar
is the only country that neither the foreign minister nor the prime
minister has yet visited,” he said.
As well as a Sunday summit with President Thein Sein, Abe will on
Saturday meet democracy icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who
was in Japan last month.
Unlike its Western allies, Japan maintained trade ties and dialogue
with Myanmar during years of junta rule which ended in 2011, saying a
hard line could push it closer to key ally China.
“Myanmar… urgently needs concrete assistance from Japan,” an official
from the Myanmar presidential office, who did not want to be named,
told AFP.
“Japan will be able to help in technology, banking, currency markets,
human resource development, trade, investment, agriculture, factories,
debt relief, increasing assistance and infrastructure,” he said.
The two countries in December agreed to start work this year on a huge industrial zone near Yangon.
In January Japanese finance minister Taro Aso said Japan will stand by pledges to waive Myanmar’s debt and extend new loans.
Japan’s previous government announced in April 2012 that it would
forgive 300 billion yen ($3.4 billion) of the 500 billion yen owed by
Myanmar, following a string of dramatic political reforms.
From: BurmaNet News
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