High level commission agreed between Venezuela and Myanmar
ABN News Service / July 10, 2007

The governments of Venezuelan and the Union of Myanmar have agreed to establish a Mixed High Level Commission to strengthen bilateral relations in the political, economic and commercial areas.  Myanmar is located in south-east Asia, with the city of Yangon as its capital.

The information was made public by the vice-minister of Foreign Affair of the Union of Myanmar, Maung Myint, after a meeting with the Venezuelan Chancellor Nicolas Maduro.

The south-eastern country's representative, who is visiting Venezuela as a special guest of the government, pointed out that the Mixed Commission would work in Venezuela and, in that moment, the cooperation details would be discussed.

Maung Myint also said that the "Mixed Commission World be established after a possible visit of President Hugo Chavez to that region."

Myint highlighted that both countries are trying to identify common interests, and reminded that Myanmar is "a country that is about 100 percent cultivated ... we export rice, and we are also the second biggest exporter of beans. Last year we exported about 1,2 million tons of beans."

When Maung Myint arrived in Venezuela, July 5, he said that the Union of Myanmar is interested in strengthening relations with Venezuela and in identifying different areas where cooperation between the two countries is possible.

"Myanmar counts on great gas reserves ... that is why I think it is a good moment to discuss themes related to energy, in order to find ways to cooperate in the different basic areas dealing with the use of refineries."

During his visit, Myint has visited several historic places such as the National Pantheon, Simon Bolivar's birthplace, the Bolivarian Museum and the Bolivar Square in downtown Caracas. He also walked through the Hospital Cardiologico Infantil, (Children’s Cardiology Hospital) and was scheduled to visit the Nucleo de Desarrollo Endogeno (Endogenous Development Center) Fabricio Ojeda, to see social achievements of the Revolution.

The fortieth biggest country in the world shares borders with China, to the North, with the Andaman Sea to the South, with Laos and Thailand to the East, and with India, and Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal to the West.

It is a predominantly agricultural nation, with 63% of its inhabitants linked to the cultivation and processing of its products, with greats reserves of gold and precious stones, including diamonds and a great hydroelectric energy potential.