His Excellency U Ohn Gyaw

Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Union of Myanmar delivered at the Asia Society, New York

September 28, 1998

Ambassador Nicholas Platt, Members of the Asia Society, Distinguished Guests,

I am happy to be here today to speak to you again, as I did last year.

As we come to the end of a millennium, countries and regions find themselves preparing for the next one. Only if we prepare ourselves today can we hope to face the challenges successfully and take full advantage of the opportunities that a new millennium will bring about.

It is against this backdrop that Myanmar is striving in her economic, political and social life in order that we may overcome the challenges successfully and make use of the opportunities in the immediate future.

Political Development

Myanmar regained her independence in 1948. Immediately thereafter Myanmar had to face numerous insurgencies, which drained our resources for nearly half a century. This has instilled in us a strong awareness of a historical fact, that is without political stability, strong economic development will not be possible. As we look at our region as well as at others, we are also struck by the fact that if a country lacks political stability there will be no regional cohesion, which is conducive to development. Such cohesion will bring about mutual understanding, which leads to harmony, which in turn facilitates the region to develop steadily, while at the same time contributing to international peace and tranquillity.

Let me now apprise you as to the direction Myanmar wishes to take. I will start with the political situation. In so doing, let me again stress that the present government is a transitional government, which is actively engaged in the process of laying down the foundations for strong, new system--a system of government which is in line with the regional and global objectives.

On the domestic front the present government is fully committed to the process of democratisation. It is committed to the emergence of a strong and durable constitution. At the same time it has adopted a market-oriented economic system as the economic system of choice. Myanmar will continue to maintain sustained efforts for safeguarding its traditional and cultural values.

In our effort to develop the nation we place special emphasis on national reconsolidation. I had mentioned that insurgencies have been with us for nearly half a century. The efforts of the present government in the last few years had met with remarkable success. Altogether seventeen armed groups have come back to the legal fold by exchanging arms for peace. If you make a close study, this is an accomplishment without parallel either in Myanmar's history or in the contemporary international scene. One might ask how this accomplishment has been made possible. A succinct answer would be that it became possible because of the determination of the government and the people of Myanmar.

To consolidate this process the government of Myanmar has been implementing an all-round development programme called the Programme for the Development of the Border Areas and National Races. In the implementation of this Programme the government has been building roads, schools, dispensaries and other infrastructure development projects in the border areas where most of the national races reside and which were until recently under the control of various insurgent groups.

As part of this Programme we are also providing alternative income to the residents of these areas, who because of extreme poverty had resorted to the growing of opium poppy. The government has introduced various cash crops so that the people in the border areas can find alternative livelihood. This is part of our strategy to overcome the problem of narcotic drugs, which we inherited as a legacy of our colonial past. Our aim is to have total eradication of poppy plantation by the year 2007. Already we are able to declare the Mong-La region as an opium free zone.

We are also cooperating with our neighbors and countries in the region to combat the scourge of narcotic drugs. For this purpose, together UNDCP, we have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand--that is with all our immediate neighbours. Additionally, we have signed similar agreements with countries as far ranging as the Philippines, Vietnam, and the Russian Federation.

In resolving the problem of illicit narcotic drugs, a holistic approach is necessary. Counter-narcotic efforts must include the prevention of poppy cultivation, interdicting production and trafficking, as well as taking effective measure for demand reduction. Narcotic drugs rent the fabrics of societies and have caused untold sufferings to millions. It even constitutes a destabilising factor to some national governments. It is our strong belief that the problem of narcotic drugs could be successfully overcome only if national efforts are complemented by regional and international cooperation.

We in Myanmar are determined to do all we can to combat this menace not only through national endeavours but also in cooperation with our regional partners as well as the international community.

Economic Development

Myanmar's economy during the 80s was in a dismal situation. The country was experiencing negative growth rate for three successive years when the then State law and Order Restoration Council, the predecessor of the State Peace and Development Council assumed state responsibilities. The government immediately changed the centrally planned economic system to a market-oriented economic system. Private sector plays an important part under the new system with the full support and encouragement of the government. The government also undertook wide-ranging economic reforms and implemented a stabilising programme. Having stabilised the economy, it implemented a Four-Year Economic Plan (1992-93 to 1995-96) which outperformed its planned targets. As against the target GDP growth rate of 5.6 per cent, Myanmar saw an average GDP growth rate of 7.3 per cent over a four-year period. Presently Myanmar is implementing a Five Year Economic Plan. The first year of the plan 1996-97 also outperformed its target and achieved a GDP growth of 6.4 per cent.

Myanmar is an agricultural country and the agricultural sector contributes 36 per cent of GDP and accounts for 35 per cent of total export earnings. Widespread floods in the country last year impacted on the agricultural sector and on the national economy. Therefore the growth rate for 1997-98 registered only 4.6 per cent.

In its endeavour for economic development the government has set out Four Economic Objectives. Foremost among these objectives is the policy to give priority to the agricultural sector while at the same time striving to develop other sectors of the economy. Myanmar has a total arable area of some 45 million acres. Out of which 23 million acres or approximately half of that area, are under cultivation. Moreover the government has embarked upon a programme to reclaim fallow land cultivable wasteland. In 1996-97 alone more than 380,000 acres of fallow and wasteland were developed for cultivation.

Myanmar is rich in water resources and has total water resources of 870 million acres feet per annum, of which only 6 per cent are being presently utilized. Therefore the government has implemented 84 irrigation projects in the last ten years. As a result, irrigated areas have been increased from 12.5 per cent of the sown area to 16.4 per cent. With its fertile land and rich water resources, Myanmar foresees a future where our agriculture sector will not only be a vehicle for Myanmar's economic growth but would also contribute to the food security of the region as well.

Last year I had the opportunity to speak here regarding the impact of Myanmar's membership into ASEAN. ASEAN countries are important trading partners for Myanmar and account for 38 per cent of Myanmar's export and 42 per cent of Myanmar's import in 1996-97. It is also a very important source of foreign direct investment. Singapore is the largest investor in Myanmar followed closely by Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. With the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), intra-ASEAN trade is expected to hold even larger potential.

While we place special significance on regionalism, Myanmar, as a founder member of GATT and WTO, highly values a free international trading system. We firmly believe that an international trading system that is free and fair and which provides remunerative prices for the products from developing countries is necessary to bring about economic development to billions of people living in these countries. That is why we place so much emphasis on our membership in WTO.

Social Development

Last year at the informal ASEAN Summit, ASEAN countries came out with Vision 2020, our vision for the coming century. In this Vision we envisage a caring society, where we hope to eliminate the present basic problems of hunger, malnutrition, deprivation, and poverty--a Southeast Asian community based on Southeast Asian values, and building a Southeast Asian identity.

As a member of ASEAN we fully subscribe to these ideas. At the national level we are implementing a policy conducive to this vision. Poverty alleviation is therefore a priority concern of the government. Providing food, clothing and shelter--the basic needs--receive priority attention in our approach to Human Rights. We believe that all Human Rights, political, economic, and social rights should be given due attention. That is why we have signed and ratified a number of important Human Rights Instruments including the Four Geneva Conventions, Convention on the Right of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

However, as a developing country, we place special emphasis on a very basic Human Right, that is the right to development. We also hold in very high esteem, as did all the participating countries at the World Human Rights Conference in Vienna, the significance of national and regional particularities in the implementation of Human Rights.

This year marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We regard the Declaration to be extremely important. It is indeed "a moral document of first important". The Declaration sets a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. It is our view that even as we seek universality of Human Rights our diversity in historical, cultural and religion must never be minimised or forgotten.

We believe that all human beings have the right to life. We also believe that until and unless we are able to abolish nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction our lives on earth will remain insecure. That is why Myanmar places an important emphasis on the disarmament process.

Myanmar had the privilege of being a member of the Eighteen Nations Disarmament Committee (ENDC) since its inception and continues to play an active role in the enlarged Conference on Disarmament (CD). Since 1995 we are the main sponsor of an important United Nations resolution calling on the commencement of multilateral negotiations on disarmament. Recent events should serve as an awakening call to those who argue that nuclear disarmament concerns only the nuclear powers.

Conclusion

I have at some length spoken about the endeavours, which Myanmar has been taking in the political sphere as well as the efforts we are making for economic and social development. These are part of our endeavours to fulfill our goal of becoming a peaceful, prosperous, modern and developed state.

Towards this end we have begun a process which will establish a multi-party democratic political system and a market-oriented economic system. We are endeavouring to build a caring and harmonious society where peace and stability prevail and where all our citizens would enjoy material, spiritual and moral well-being.

Myanmar is a multi-ethnic nation of 135 different national races. Because of the colonial policy of "Divide and Rule" there had been disunity and suspicion among national brethren which led to numerous insurgencies. The government however has been able to bring about national reconsolidation resulting in a peaceful and stable Union of Myanmar.

As I had earlier explained we were able to bring about peaceful conditions to the far and remote corners of Myanmar. For the first time since our independence, peace and tranquillity prevail in almost all parts of the country. A peaceful and stable Myanmar contributes to the peace and stability of the entire region.

Here it is worth recounting that Myanmar together with China and India has been responsible for the emergence of the Five Principles of Co-existence, which is widely accepted by the international community. These Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence remain the cornerstone of Myanmar's foreign policy. They are:

Guided by these principles, we are actively implementing policies for the betterment of the economic, political and social life of the people of Myanmar. These policies, we are confident, will enable us to build a peaceful, prosperous, modern and developed state founded on a society based on justice, liberty and equality. These policies, we firmly believe, will enable us to contribute significantly to regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Thank you.