Following Interim President Min Aung Hlaing's China Trip, Over 23 Ministries Collaborate and Discuss for BRI Projects

Ayeyarwaddy Times July 1 Following the return of Interim President U Min Aung Hlaing from China, the first coordination meeting for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was held with the participation of over 23 ministries, it has been learned. U Ko Ko Kyaw, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Working Committee for the Implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Office of the Auditor General of the Union, the Naypyidaw Council, and 23 ministries discussed matters related to BRI at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Interim Government in Naypyidaw yesterday, June 30, according to their propaganda media. At the meeting, it was discussed that the progress of current projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework and the continued implementation of BRI projects are cooperations that will bring mutual benefits between Myanmar and China. During Interim President U Min Aung Hlaing's recent trip to China, he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and they mutually pledged to quickly resume BRI projects and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) projects, and to complete projects that were suspended due to security concerns. During the five-day trip, as many as 18 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between the governments of Myanmar and China. In the northern Shan State region, where the BRI route is located, although fighting has subsided at present, the routes of Muse and Chin Shwe Haw, which are major border trade gates between China and Myanmar, are facing difficulties in operating normally. China is also engaging in security discussions with ethnic armed organizations along the project routes, in addition to the interim government, and is mediating and persuading for a ceasefire at the border to ensure the safety of its projects. Although the BRI route is a strategic project for China to gain access to the Indian Ocean, observers of current affairs state that it will remain difficult to implement successfully as long as military and political stability, and regional peace are not achieved within Myanmar. Photo – MOI / China Daily