Minister Terzi met at the foreign ministry today with Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar Myo Mynt, in the first high level bilateral meeting since the Burmese government’s recent signs of greater openness to democratic procedures.
Minister Terzi informed Myo Mynt of Italy’s expectation that the Burmese authorities pursue this route, specifically underscoring three fundamental steps in the democratisation process: the release of all political prisoners, resolution of conflicts with ethnic minorities and proper conduction of the supplementary elections scheduled for April 1st.
Terzi and his colleague also exchanged views on relaunching Italian development projects in Myanmar, especially in the fight against poverty, promoting rural development and the culture/archaeology sector; the complete revival of such projects, Terzi pointed out, remains subordinate to the lifting of the European sanctions still in force.
The meeting took place on the eve of the ASEAN Awareness Forum, organised by the foreign ministry to offer Italian businesses access to information on investment opportunities in the ten members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which represents a potential market of 600 million and has been growing over the past ten years at an annual rate of 6%.Finally, Terzi and Mynt – who confirmed Myanmar’s interest in a gradual influx of foreign investments – discussed the possibility of holding a “country presentation” in Italy on Myanmar.
