Myanmar President to pay state visit to South Korea

Yangon: Myanmar President U Thein Sein will pay a state visit to South Korea soon, an official announcement from Nay Pyi Taw capital city said Thursday without specifying the date of his visit. At the invitation of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Thein Sein will pay the visit as a follow-up of his recent trips to China and the US in September, reported Xinhua. In May, Lee paid a milestone goodwill visit to Myanmar, the first in 30 years, which marked the opening up of a new chapter of friendly ties between the two countries. U Thein Sein`s reciprocal visit is aimed at further promoting their bilateral cooperation based on the improved relations.

During Lee`s trip in May, the two leaders discussed matters related to the strengthening of friendly ties, technical assistance for the development of Myanmar, human resources development, finance, economy, education, infrastructure, industrial development, environmental conservation, tourism, transportation, communications, science and technology as well as energy and mining. Lee during his May visit had offered Thein Sein expanded loan and aid and increased cooperation on energy and resources development, while Thein Sein assured Seoul of ceasing to buy conventional weapons from North Korea. Myanmar had not pursued the development of nuclear weapons and vowed to honour a UN Security Council resolution, he added. According to official statistics, South Korea has injected a total of $2.95 billion as of July 2012 since 1988, standing fourth in Myanmar`s foreign investors line-up. IANS