Myanmar Blames Colonialists for Hindering National Development

Myanmar leader Lieutenant- General Khin Nyunt has blamed colonialists and neo-colonialists for hindering the country's national development, reported official newspaper The new Light of Myanmar Saturday.

Meeting with delegates of Myanmar national races attending the country's upcoming Union Day celebration which falls next Monday, Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, recalled that Myanmar national people were subjected to torture and exploitation of colonialists for over 100 years.

Khin Nyunt, who is also chairman of the Committee for Organizing the 54th Anniversary Myanmar Union Day, accused some neo-colonialist nations of imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar in an attempt to sow seeds of mistrust among the national races to destroy the national solidarity.

He urged the delegates to seriously uphold the objectives of the country's Union Day to safeguard the national policy.

Myanmar's Union Day was designated on February 12, 1947 when Myanmar ethnic leaders met at the Panlong conference in northeastern Shan state. Myanmar regained independence on January 4, 1948 from the British colonialist rule.

Myanmar Striving for Economic Development: Leader

Myanmar is launching efforts to enable the country to get abreast with other nations for rapid economic development and raise the standard of living of the people, said Myanmar leader Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt Friday.

Khin Nyunt, who is first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, made the remarks when meeting with officials of the country's Ministry of Commerce, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Saturday.

He pointed out that at present, the developing nations have formed organizations region-wise to ward off the attempts of some big nations to dominate and manipulate them and to overcome the challenges as an effective force.

In this situation, he stressed the need for his country to extend, on self-reliance basis, economic cooperation with friendly nations holding common views in strengthening and developing the national economy.

He pointed out that there saw day-by-day improvement in the economic cooperation with member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the BIMST-EC, another sub-regional economic grouping which includes Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In the process of globalization, he said, the financial market and the trade sector have become related to each other the world over, emphasizing the need for the state and the private sectors to cooperate in striving to be able to keep pace with the international trend, to compete with other nations in the international market and to use electronic and communication technology in the economic sector.

Myanmar Emphasizes Importance of Trade Sector in Economic Plan

Myanmar leader Lieutenant- General Khin Nyunt projected the annual average growth of gross domestic product is 10 percent in the country's third five-year national economic plan (2001-2006) period, reported official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar Saturday.

Meeting with officials of the Myanmar Ministry of Commerce on Friday, Khin Nyunt, first secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, said the aims of the trade sector in the economic plan are to give priority to importing capital goods, food stuff and raw materials, to increase the ratio of the cooperative and the private sectors in import business, to reduce deficit and to increase surplus in export and import business, and to reduce the government sector and to increase the cooperative and the private sectors in export business.

He urged the ministry to give priority to extending new markets abroad.

The trade sector, which is the second largest after the agricultural sector, contributes 20.9 percent to Myanmar's entire national economy, while the production sector shares 60.3 percent and services sector 18.8 percent.






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