Pay serious attention to ensuring socio-economic development and a peaceful and pleasant work environment for all citizens and alleviating the gap between rich and poor
Nay Pyi Taw September 12
A work coordination meeting of the State Security and Peace Commission and Union government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar was held today, addressed by Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Chairman of State Security and Peace Commission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Also present at the meeting were Vice Chairman of the Commission Vice-Senior General Soe Win, Prime Minister U Nyo Saw, Executive Chief U Aung Lin Dway, Commission Secretary Joint Executive Chief General Ye Win Oo, Commission members, union ministers, the Nay Pyi Taw Council chair, and deputy ministers. Region/state chief ministers attended the meeting through video conferencing.
In his keynote address, the Senior General said he visited China from the end of August to early September and attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – SCO SUMMIT 2025 Plus and the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Moreover, he also visited Harbin in Heilongjiang province and Chengdu in Sichuan province.
SCO summit and five GGI points
He said Myanmar is a dialogue partner of the SCO and the country took part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – SCO SUMMIT 2025 Plus at the invitation of the President of the People’s Republic of China H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping. The SCO is an important body set up under the leadership of China and Russia for regional security. The SCO now has a large number of member states, and it has become a powerful organization, apart from its huge work volume.
SCO has original member states, dialogue partners and observers. The total GDP of all its member states is US$-30.171 trillion, with China standing at the top of its GDP list. The total population of SCO is 3.905 billion. Member states, dialogue partners and observers include industrial countries, agriculture countries, countries that are rich in natural resources, countries that are rich in oil and gas. Moreover, SCO is an interfaith body participated by Buddhist countries, Christian countries, Hindu countries and Islamic countries. Myanmar’s participation in the SCO, a multi-sector organization, will be very fruitful for it.
In this world, some countries and organizations exert political, economic, financial and administrative pressures on and exercise discrimination against the countries and governments they dislike. Regarding the issue, relations should be enhanced with international bodies and member states through cooperation.
Military parade of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War
The Senior General and the high-level Myanmar delegation attended the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War at the invitation of the PRC President. The parade won serious global attention, and the three main points were clearly noted. The first one is the well-trained Chinese armed forces; the second is the huge surge in China’s defence capability as the military equipment unveiled at the parade is known to have the power to regulate the global balance of power; and the third is the Chinese citizens who are disciplined and systematic. In his address, President Mr. Xi Jinping said that China was able to protect global countries from all kinds of threats befalling them. It is noted that China has the power to protect the world.
While attending the Summit and the parade, the Senior General held meetings with Heads of State from international community including the People’s Republic of China, the prime minister of India and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. During the meetings, they desired Myanmar as member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Likewise, the Senior General talked about further promotion of trade with Heads of State from China, India, Lao and other countries.
The meetings focused on reopening of the border region trade routes under the rules and regulations.
At the SCO Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping tabled the five Global Governance Initiatives. The first point is that global governance processes should be carried out on the basis that all countries have equal rights. The second point is that in global governance processes, international law must prevail equally over all countries. The third point is that the global governance system should be based on cooperation and consensus among the majority of countries. The fourth point is that the global governance system should be based on people centred approaches. The fifth point is that the global governance system should be founded only on genuine outcomes. Hence, as these five points are aligned with the stance of Myanmar, the Senior General seconded the table. These five points are also in conformity with current situations of the world.
At the meetings with Heads of State attending the SCO Summit, the Senior General explained progress of Myanmar, bilateral relations and preparations to hold the election. So, those Heads of State expressed their wishes to promote relations with Myanmar, supported Myanmar’s preparations to hold the election and pledged to send the election observation teams to Myanmar. Due to attending the SCO Summit, it benefited much in political and international relations of Myanmar.
The high-level Myanmar delegation led by the Senior General was sent to Beijing from Tianjin by the special high speed train. During the trip, it can be seen that the rail transport of China is advance. Hence, Myanmar’s relevant ministry needs to observe the rail transport facilities to improve the rail transport system in Myanmar. It is necessary to improve the rail transport as the public transport. Only when the road transport is good will the transport system improve.
During the visit to China, the country’s development progress could be witnessed. In the meeting with the Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, the Senior General requested assistance for post-earthquake rehabilitation works in Myanmar and received appropriate support. Likewise, in the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Senior General also obtained assistance for earthquake rehabilitation efforts. Only when the necessary roads, bridges, and buildings required for post-earthquake rehabilitation are restored as quickly as possible will the social lives of the people be able to return to normal.
Investment, trade and boosting production
The Senior General met business-persons, experts, entrepreneurs and merchants of Chengdu of Sichuan Province of China. At the meeting, they wish to invest in Myanmar. Existing investments in the country should be reviewed to ensure that they are not hindered, and efforts should also be made collectively to attract new inves-tments. With the increase of foreign investments, more job opportunities will be created and technologies will be acquired, which will greatly contribute to the country’s development.
It was learned that Chinese investors wish to make investments in yuan. In trade, direct settlements between yuan and kyat are also being conducted. As the country has significant trade volumes with China, if investment projects can be carried out not only in dollars but also in yuan, investment will expand further and bring great benefits to the nation. Therefore, steps will be taken promptly to enable investments from China to be made in yuan. They added that if economic growth can be promo-ted, extensive national development activities will be implemented. Hence, it is necessary for the respective ministries to give priority to advancing in-vestment activities.
It has been stated that a Myanmar-China Trade and Investment Promotion Association, involving business owners from both sides, will be formed to accelerate investment cooperation with China and swiftly develop businesses. To promote trade with China, it is necessary to further improve and pro-duce more agricultural and livestock products. When we take the time to review our country’s export sector, we see that in the BSPP era, agricultural products accounted for about 50 percent, and in the SLORC era, they were just over 30 percent. We observed that forestry products, marine products, and mineral products were more abundant. In the SPDC era, agricultural products were only around 20 percent. During the two terms of the democratic government, they could only export around 20 percent of agricultural pro-ducts. During our government’s term, we were able to export about 39 percent of agricultural products. We see that our country exports more raw materials and CMP products than finished goods. As our country is agriculture-based, we need to export more agricul-tural products than we do now.
We see that during our government’s 5-year term, there was a trade surplus of over US$-2 billion. However, if we can produce and export more agricultural and livestock products, the trade surplus will increase further, greatly benefiting the national economy. Although I have urged, starting from 2022, for sufficient domestic production of cooking oil, there is still not enough even now. Consequently, we have to import cooking oil, spending foreign currency annually. If we can cultivate our domestic oil crops to achieve full yield per acre and expand sunflower cultivation, we will have sufficiency in domestic cooking oil. Therefore, the Chief Ministers of States and Regions where oil crops are grown need to prioritize and work on this.
If we can produce more goods and export them abroad, the country will earn foreign exchange and the socio-economic lives of the people will greatly improve. We need to sufficiently produce domestically the goods that we are currently importing but are capable of producing, in order to substitute for imports. Therefore, everyone must prioritize and work hard for the promotion of the national economy.
During my visit to Helongjiang and Sichuan provinces, I studied their agricultural operations. I observed that they are conducting their agricultural work using modern digital technologies and AI systems. While our country is striving to transition to mechanized agriculture, our neighbouring country has already stepped up to a higher level. I also observed their good standard of living, cleanliness, individual discipline, and the greenery on both sides of the roads. We need to learn from and adopt their superior practices. The trip we made was beneficial for the country, and this is simply sharing what we learned.
Our country’s main economic activity is agriculture and livestock. 70 percent of our country’s population lives in rural areas. By successfully implementing this sector, we can reduce poverty. Therefore, for national economic development, we need to work to further develop agrobased production industries. I seriously urge States and Regions to carry out agricultural and livestock businesses suitable for their regions. To successfully develop the agriculture and livestock sector, we need to study and implement agricultural practices from countries that are more advanced and better than ours.
Development of industries based on bamboo, cotton, and rubber
When carrying out production activities, we need to invent, innovate, and work to make them better and more advanced, rather than operating in an ordinary manner. Regarding building AgroBase Industries, bamboo is found throughout our country. The lifespan of a bamboo plant is a maximum of about 10 to 20 years; if not used, it is wasted. Therefore, the respective Region and State Chief Ministers and Union Ministers must prioritize working to produce value-added pro-ducts from bamboo based on their regions.
Similarly, regarding cotton, it is cultivated successfully in Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, and Bago Regions. We need to operate industries based on cotton. We need to cultivate to produce more cotton and produce textiles, and other products from cotton. Regarding rubber cultivation, we also need to carry out industries based on rubber. Bam-boo, cotton, and rubber are materials that already exist and are successfully cultivated within our country. These are businesses that can quickly produce finished and saleable goods in a short time. The state is ready to support these businesses with the necessary capital, technology, and requirements. For national economic promotion activities, the state will issue loans for the necessary funds to invest in the development of industrial production businesses. Regarding coffee, the coffee produced in our country is world-class. Therefore, States and Regions need to work to promote coffee cultivation and production.
Educated human resources are necessary for manufacturing industries. Therefore, the government has taken measures for human resources development by adopting policies in the country. Efforts must be made to enable citizens to attain at least middle school level. Only then, will human resources required for industries, agriculture and livestock breeding be available. As basic education schools for industries, agriculture and livestock breeding have been opened, universities and colleges have been established. In the higher education sector, it is necessary to meet high standards without fail.
High education standards
As our country is a developing one, most students go to government schools. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the qualifications of teachers, to appoint sufficient teachers for schools and to improve schools. Measures must be taken to enable students to learn education fully. Efforts must be made to upgrade school buildings to meet their characteristics and aspects in accordance with their designated levels. The government is ready to provide everything necessary to do so.
Schools run by the government must be ones which can be relied on by the people. The government has been pro-viding assistance as much as possible for welfare, accommodations and food for teachers and responsible officials from regions and states are also required to provide assistance to teachers. Doing so would contribute a lot to nurturing educated human resources necessary for the country.
Studying recent riots in Nepal, it can be seen that they started from measures for the social media registration process. It was learnt that some powerful countries were involved in them behind the scenes. It is necessary to take lessons for our country from them.
Emphasis must be placed on enhancing the socio-economic lives of rural people in the country and reduction of unemployment. The number of people who had to go to work abroad due to various reasons and live under the law of host countries is increasing. Some of them are subjected to oppression. Steps must be taken to enable all citizens to live and work in the country peacefully and happily under the protection of the State. Therefore, the government will hold a general election to enable the country to move forward on the multi-party democracy path firmly.
uccessfully holding multi-party general elections
The elections scheduled for 28 December must be dignified, free and fair ones and the Hluttaw must also be a dignified one. Relevant security personnel are urged to place emphasis on safe campaigning of candidates and take effective action against saboteurs who hinder successful elections. Candidates are required to be ones who can serve the interests of the country, implement democracy and safeguard “Our Three Main National Causes.” Relevant chief ministers are also urged to make efforts for successfully holding the election and emergence of candidates who can serve the interests of the country.
General reports submitted
Then, members of the commission and union ministers reported to the meeting on stability and security measures for successfully holding the election, plans to provide security for candidates and campaigns, effective action against saboteurs in accordance with the laws for protection of the election and verification of party member lists.
Afterward, the secretary of the commission reported to the meeting on administrative affairs in regions and states, preservation of moral pillars of students, the needs for cooperation of teachers, parents and students, action against monks and nuns who violate Vinaya and those forged fake passports and measures taken against illegal border trade.
Deliver a concluding remark
In his concluding remarks, the Senior General observed that the data of ministries and staff is experiencing security breaches through the use of social media. He explained that these breaches of security and personal data, whether direct or indirect, can cause harm to individuals, then to departments, and ultimately to the state level. He therefore stated that it is necessary to carry out awareness-building and effective monitoring to enhance security.
Also, regarding illegal trade, he stated that it is necessary to effectively prevent and suppress it. Concerning border trade, it was mentioned that the relevant countries are being urged and engaged with for the formal opening of border gates. He noted that the occurrence of such trade without officially open border gates is like “reviving a dead tiger” or “handing a knife to a thief.” He explained that fighting and suppressing illegal trade will bring about the rule of law and can also lead to a reduction in armed violence. He stated that the regions and states adjoining the border areas must effectively address and monitor illegal trade, as achieving domestic peace will remain difficult as long as it persists. He therefore called for all those involved to take the matter seriously, as they will be effectively prosecuted. Furthermore, he stressed that officials responsible for exposing and stopping illegal trade must carry out systematic monitoring and perform their duties loyally to the state.
He stated that the number of drug-related seizures and arrests remains high because drug production is still ongoing. He stressed that drug production must therefore be exposed and suppressed, as only by stopping it will distribution and sales also decrease. He also added that it is necessary to stop and suppress drug-related online fraud.
Then, he stated that as all present are working for national prosperity, everyone must continue to strive for the successful achievement of their goals. He emphasized that they should focus on and seriously work toward the socio-economic development of all citizens, their mental and physical well-being, and the reduction of the gap between the rich and the poor. What is most important, he stressed, is to work for the nation’s economic growth, and he instructed everyone to cooperate to achieve this. Then, the meeting came to a conclusion.
